Education in Catalonia

When I was still in the UK I asked my tutor at the school here in Catalonia whether there was a dress code for teachers. I was aware that school children in Spain don't wear any uniform, but I thought that perhaps staff were expected to dress a bit more formally.

When my tutor, Alba, replied to my email she told me that I could "dress the way you like as long as you are dressed!".

I'm mentioning this because the first thing I noticed when I arrived at the school on the first day was has informally dressed everyone was. I was half-expecting it, but still opted for a smart shirt and smart brown shoes to avoid dressing too casually. I really needn't have bothered. It's quite common for teachers to be walking around in jeans, t-shirts and trainers, just like the students.

That's just the most immediately apparent of the ways in which the atmosphere in schools here is a lot more informal than that in their British counterparts. Students don't call teachers "Sir", but use first names instead (whereas I was calling teachers "Sir" or "Miss" until the start of Sixth Form).

I'm not generally a big fan of overly formal situations, so I'm finding the more relaxed and informal way of doing things very positive. It's especially interesting in the light of Michael Gove, Tory education spokesperson in the UK, opening his speech at the recent Conservative party conference with a discussion of the need for more discipline in the classroom and the importance of a smart school uniform. From what I've seen here the lack of such formality does not seem to have any clearly adverse effect on teaching, although perhaps the schoolchildren here are a bit rowdier and it can take a long time to get them settled down. On the other hand I have no doubt that it is the same (if not worse) in some British schools.

There are, of course, plenty of other differences. The first class starts at 8.30am (groan) and the last finishes at 5.30pm, making for a much longer school day. However, on Friday school finishes early. Students doing the Batxillerat (equivalent of AS/A-levels) study a minimum of eight subjects, as opposed to the three or four that a British college student will usually do.

A distinct feature of Catalan (as opposed to Spanish) education is, of course the use of Catalan. Castilian is taught in Catalan schools as a second language, and nearly all of the classes and administration are conducted in Catalan. In fact, there was recently a story in the news here over the ongoing controversy over whether Catalan schools should have to provide two hours of tuition per week in Castilian or whether this should be increased to three hours, as the central government in Madrid has been trying to impose. Given that Castilian is the main language of the country, it is striking that the amount of time being talked about is so small.

From what I've seen I have to say I like the education system here. I'm happy not to have to dress up smartly to go to work, and the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed.

And of course there is the wine at lunch time...