Submitted by Lindsey Perez-Perez on the 2020 winter session program in Barcelona, Spain sponsored by the College of Education and Human Development…
It is such a blessing that I am here. This week we started our partnership at St. Peter’s School. The school has one of the prettiest views in Barcelona, overlooking the city and Barceloneta Beach. There are many things in the school that I have noticed that are very different from the American education system. For starters, students in elementary school have to learn four languages: English, Spanish, Catalan, and French. In first grade, students are learning multiplication and division. The way teachers view their profession is much more about student improvement.
Being here has made me value the importance of valuing someone’s presence. Spanish people take their meals as a sacred time. I look around and it is rare to see anyone on their phone. Instead, people are having conversations, laughing and simply just enjoying each other’s presence. It is definitely a difference from the U.S. and I am trying to live more in the present moment versus some virtual reality that many people are sucked into today.