Graduating from State School

[Pesky Wesky]

Yesterday my daughter graduated from her state secondary school (note the pride in my voice here, and a certain tremor of emotion)
What an emotional evening! Not so much for the fact that she had a piece of paper in her hand that she'd given her all to get, but what that paper symbolised - especially in these times.
It was very emotional to see all these young adults, spruced up in their suits and posh dresses. Heels at a minimum of 7cm, but more likely to be 15!! All ready to go out and get the world, if the world will let itself be got.
Reference was made to these young people belonging to the best educated generation that Spain has seen yet, but ironically with very low employment expectations. They were reminded that their parents in many cases had fought for the basic education which was the right of all Spaniards today, but that is being eroded away by what is happening in now. They were encouraged to fight, to not be beaten down, and to still persue their dreams, even they were going to have it tougher than ever in some ways.
On a more personal level, talking about this particular institute, we were reminded how apprehensive we'd been when our kids started there. The institute hadn't been long open and there's another older institute in the town, but for some reason we plumped for this one. It didn't have a good reputation. It was covered in grafitti; it was a risk. However on the initial visits the staff convinced us, and much more so than the other institute.
In the first year my daughter had appendicitis, a bad case, and was off school for 6 weeks. Even then she had to go to have the wound cleaned every day. When I saw how the school reacted to that, I knew I'd got the right school (with the exception of one teacher who was a complete gillipollas). They were helpful, considerate and professional.
6 years later I can say the majority of her teachers have been good and every year we've had some excellent teachers. There have also been some terrible teachers it has to be said, but few. I wasn't always happy with the content of subjects in a Spanish school and the way they were taught, but within the Spanish sytem I am sure that my daughter has been to one of the best schools there is.
Perhaps more important has been the "feeling" to the school. The general atmposphere is busy and happy. I was always well received and well treated. The relationship between the staff and the pupils is exceptional. They meet for breakfast. They all went off for dinner together last night. One of the porters has become a close friend of my daughter's. She was in tears last night saying goodbye to them. The head of the school is marvellous, really an inspiring person.
I wanted to write this to give an account of my experience of state school. Far from perfect, but still a worthy and gratifying education.

[jojo]

well done Baby PW and congratulations proud mummy

Jo xxxxx

[xabiachica]

congrats to you all I reckon


& you either spelled that wrong or I need to update the sweary filter

it's very much like our experience, too

when we decided that we were staying, we took our girls out of the International school & put them into the local state primary school


this school was so new it wasn't even built yet - they were all in portacabins in a car park!! - but by the next September they had a wonderful brand new building (the leaky roofs & malfunctioning heating were mended reasonably quickly )

it wasn't without problems - no school is - & it too went through a time when it had a bad reputation - entirely caused by the then head of AMPA who was a bit power crazy & wanted to get rid of the head....... he didn't win, thankfully

when she eventually retired at the end of last year there were tears all round - literally - & tons of her former pupils turned up at the end of year fiesta to say goodbye

the secondary school both my girls go to sounds like your daughter's too - a lovely bustling atmosphere, some great teachers, some not so - probably like any school in the entire world - but overall they do a good job

the teachers make the effort to get to know the parents too - I'm on first name terms with some including the deputy head, & they know my name too

when my husband died a few months ago they were brilliant & still are supporting the girls, emotionally as well as in practical ways - some teachers better than others to be fair - & there's at least one gp who is a bit 'so what?' about it

but on the whole a good school - & I speak as a parent who has dealt with schools in 3 countries on 2 continents

[Calas felices]

Congratulations to your daughter, pesky wesky. Could you tell us a little more about the Spanish system? You say graduation - is that not the same as leaving school then? and the piece of paper you mention, is this some special achievement or like a list of qualifications or like the French Baccalaureate. Probably most importantly does she now go on to University or what? If not I hope your prospect of employment is better than the news leads us to believe.

[snikpoh]

Originally Posted by Calas felices

Congratulations to your daughter, pesky wesky. Could you tell us a little more about the Spanish system? You say graduation - is that not the same as leaving school then? and the piece of paper you mention, is this some special achievement or like a list of qualifications or like the French Baccalaureate. Probably most importantly does she now go on to University or what? If not I hope your prospect of employment is better than the news leads us to believe.

I don't know the age of Pesky's daughter but she graduated form her 'state secondary education' so I guess she's 16. Having completed ESO, she would be awarded with a Secondary Education Certificate.

She then has a choice, get a job, take up vocational training or go to bachi prior to going on to University.

French Baccalaureate is equivalent to the Spanish Baccalaureate which is roughly the same as A levels in UK.

[mrypg9]

Congratulations to your daughter for her achievement...and to you and your family, PW, because anyone who has been involved in education knows that the family background, values and encouragement are so important in academic and any other kind of success in the adult world.

[Pesky Wesky]

Many, many thanks for your likes and congratulations!

My daughter has worked very hard, not always successfully, and unfortunately not always on something that I feel has been "useful" or "rewarding". But, I'm not ready to buck the system completely and there's been plenty more positive than negative.

The end to this story of graduation night came this morning. My daughter had already informed me not to worry about where she was going to sleep that night 'cos the plan was not to sleep. At 7:30 I phoned her and they were in the town square and were going to have breakfast at school because they'd been promised chocolate y churros in the school cafeteria! That seemed so Spanish to me, the staying out all night and chocolate and churros in their school with their friends and teachers!

[xabiachica]

Originally Posted by snikpoh

I don't know the age of Pesky's daughter but she graduated form her 'state secondary education' so I guess she's 16. Having completed ESO, she would be awarded with a Secondary Education Certificate.

She then has a choice, get a job, take up vocational training or go to bachi prior to going on to University.

French Baccalaureate is equivalent to the Spanish Baccalaureate which is roughly the same as A levels in UK.

she has just finished her Bachilerato - she's 18

my 16yr old dd will 'fingers crossed' be getting her secondary education cert. this summer - fingers crossed because both girls missed most of the second term/exam period so have 'make up' exams as well as the usual ones this term - so the pressure is on atm

[Pesky Wesky]

Originally Posted by Calas felices

Congratulations to your daughter, pesky wesky. Could you tell us a little more about the Spanish system? You say graduation - is that not the same as leaving school then? and the piece of paper you mention, is this some special achievement or like a list of qualifications or like the French Baccalaureate. Probably most importantly does she now go on to University or what? If not I hope your prospect of employment is better than the news leads us to believe.

My daughter is 18. She has just finished the 2 year course called Bachillerato which is equivalent to A level in the UK.

I have written ad nauseum about education on the forum as it is one of my passions. Here's a bit about bachillerato

These are the two years education following on from obligatory education which finishes at 16. These are the years that in England pupils are preparing A levels and are at 6th form or smth similar. So in both cases we are talking about further education which may lead to university, other kinds of further education or leaving the education system, but this is where the similarities end.

In England pupils normally study 2 or 3, perhaps 4 A levels. My daughter is studying at least 9 subjects (I did a recount and I'm not sure if I left anything out, so it may be 10 or 11). This year she still has PE for example, which I'm glad about. Smth else that's different is that philosophy is compulsory for all in both years of bachillerato.

Smth else that I'd never heard of before (although perhaps schools in England do it) There isn't enough time to get through the Physics syllabus so they have séptima hora which means that on Wednesdays they have an extra hour tagged on to the day

Different ideas about education...

and

It wasn't until my daughter started on her course that I realised it was so different from the UK way. As you say, both systems have got their pros and cons. Cons for the Spanish educational system include, as Steve has said, the workload. That's not to say you don't have to work in the English system, but in the Spanish system you're still struggling with subjects you didn't actually choose to do, but that are in the area that you chose. Plus there are mandatory subjects that are also subjects that you don't pick yourself like philosophy. However, like you, I quite like the idea that the learning experience is still very varied.

I

would agree with you - UK education has definitely lost the plot and I don't know how, 'cos the teachers get far more preperation than the teachers here. And just before anybody says "Why do some Brits abroad always run down the UK???" I'm not putting the Spanish educational system up as the answer to educational problems. Both systems churn out uneducated, ill prepared young adults who are quite often completely unable to cope with today's world

Primary

BTW - My experience of primary schools was similar to yours - very little creativity, absolutely no painting or fun stuff, no group work, just get your book out and turn to page XX. The secondary school has been much better although still lacking. However, I don't see anything good coming out of British schools either, but you've got much more experience than I have on that.

So not always complimentary, but as you can see, on the whole satisfied

[Pesky Wesky]

Originally Posted by xabiachica

she has just finished her Bachilerato - she's 18

my 16yr old dd will 'fingers crossed' be getting her secondary education cert. this summer - fingers crossed because both girls missed most of the second term/exam period so have 'make up' exams as well as the usual ones this term - so the pressure is on atm

Lots of luck to you and the girls over this exam period
XXXXXXXXXX