SHARING THE DIFFERENT EDUCATION SYSTEMS: Italian, Catalan and Estonian

Our last day at Kostivere Kool started with the presentation of the Italian Education System. Our Italian colleagues made a short presentation with the main features of the system (organization, compulsory classes…). We could notice some similarities and differences with Catalonia, regarding  the amount of students per class and the amount of immigrants arriving during the school year. After that, Sheila and I presented the Catalan Education System and we also shared some personal day to day experiences. We were asked some questions by  the principal and some teachers who were more curious about the lack of stability among the teachers in the schools.

MEETING WITH AN ESTONIAN WRITER AT THE LIBRARY

La segunda actividad de la mañana fué una charla con una escritora local de libros infantiles. Nos habló sobre su obra, como empezó su vocación y algunas curiosidades de su trabajo. Los alumnos conocían algunos de sus libros porqué los habían trabajado en clase, así que tuvieron la oportunidad de hacerle algunas preguntas.

READING CONTEST and FINAL CERTIFICATION

Alumnat i professorat s’ha reunit en el gimnàs per a celebrar el concurs de lectura. Alumnes voluntaris de 7è fins a 9è grau han llegit un fragment del mateix llibre d’Oskar Lust, clàssic de la seva literatura. Cada lector feia una pregunta sobre el seu fragment i qui la responia rebia una xocolatina. Tothom ha guanyat un premi per la seva presentació i el jurat compost per 5 professors i 1 alumne ha decidit 3 guanyadors. Abans d’acabar l’acte, hem rebut el Certificat de la petita formació relacionada amb el Nearpod i Classroomscreen.

MAIN FEATURES

The school was founded in 1897 and was rebuilt in 2018. They started with 18 students but now there are 60 students. Classes start at 9.20 and finish at 14:45.

The school year starts on the 1st of September. Some of the events they hold are: orienteering, hiking, preschool students visit the school, a theatre play on Christmas time. There is not a gym but they enjoy the school trips around the area. When they are in 1st grade (7 years), they can choose to study either French or German. Supportive teachers such as logopedian are fixed in the school. They have a 20 minutes break to have lunch. There are 14 teachers and 10 students per class.

BIOLOGY DIDACTIC CLASS

Annika, la mestra de Biologia ens ha ensenyat el laboratori i hem pogut gaudir d’una classe pràctica a partir de reptes. Primerament, hem fet una activitat dins l’aula i després, hem fet una altra a fora. En totes dues activitats havíem de treballar en grups. Ens han agradat molt les dues activitats i aquest material estarà compartit al SITES del Projecte Erasmus+. El fet que tinguin les aules tan ben equipades ajuda a que les activitats puguin ser complexes. Cada taula té una pica i tenen un aparell per fer experiments amb foc i fum.

CASCADA

Hoy hemos visitado un espacio natural con una gran cascada. Olga nos ha explicado que durante el verano, las familias se reúnen y hacen picnics. Los alumnos también suelen visitar la zona para así poder conocer mejor la flora y la fauna de la zona.

MAIN FEATURES

Hans tells us he has been 12 years as a principal. The students start at 8 in the morning and finish at 15 in the afternoon. The classes last 45 minutes and then they have a 10 minutes break. They devote 20 minutes to have lunch. He tells us that there are 600 students, 100 students of them do not have Estonian as its first language, so they have 2 hours per day of Estonian language. There are between 22 and 25 students per class and 65 teachers, including pedagogical and logopedian teachers. In 5th grade, students can choose to study a 2nd language such as Russian or German. Education is free and although there are 3 classes with special need, the 15 specialists are integrated in the school. Ukrainian students get 2 extra hours  learning Estonian. The principal can choose all the teachers and all the staff that works in the school. The school get the money from the government and the community, so during a week, parents can enter the classes to see how the teachers work. For 20 years, the families know everything about their children, recently, they do it through an app. From 1st until 9th grade, education is compulsory. After that, students have state examinations on Maths and Estonian.

DIGITAL COURSE

Annika nos ha introducido las apps más utilizadas en la escuela de Kostivere, por ejemplo NEARPOD y CLASSROOMSCREEN. Nearpod nos ha gustado especialmente porque puedes hacer presentaciones con todo tipo de imágenes, cuestionarios, diagramas, dibujos.

EDUCACIÓ INFANTIL

Hi ha unes 15 classes amb màxim 24 alumnes. De 7 a 8 del matí, les famílies  poden deixar els seus fills. a les 8.30 l’alumnat esmorza i a les 13 s’acaben les classes. A partir de les 13 hores, l’alumnat pot participar en diferents activitats extres i l’escola es tanca a les 19 de la tarda. Ens encanta com des de petit, l’alumnat treballa autònomament.

HISTORY OF ART

Today, in the Arts and Crafts class with Sirjie, the students from 8th grade (14 years) had a practical class. There were 15 students and Sirjie told us that they only have 1 session per week. Today’s lesson was practical and they were doing calligraphy in order to prepare a Father’s Day card, celebrated on the 13th November. The students were seated in pairs but they worked individually. They had samples of calligraphy and they had to use rulers and special pens to do the activity. They enjoyed the class.

ENGLISH

Marju is a great English teacher. She started the classes telling the students how the session was organized. She told us that she usually has half of the class, only 8 students but today they were all together, 16 students. The students were seated in groups of 3 and asking each other “What are you wearing today? I’m wearing…” after that they had to describe someone from the class and the rest of the group had to guess it “This person is wearing…”. Marju went around the groups to correct or help them and she also time the length of the activity. Even though there were not any compulsory structures to be used, some students used comparatives, negative sentences. After the speaking activity, they did a fill in the gaps exercise individually and one student read the text aloud. The teacher used the sticks with the name of the students on it to make the groups. Finally, in groups of 3, they played games they had invented a couple of weeks ago. In 5th grade, the students can learn a second language such as Russian, German or French.

IT (5th grade- 12 years)

Pel que fa a la competència Digital, la mestra Ranelle comença la classe demanant al seu alumnat que facin estiraments. al cap de 2 minuts, els 12 estudiants s’asseuen en parelles i miren un video anomenat STOP BULLYING “Let’s fight it together”, sobre els perills d’internet i les xarxes socials.

L’objectiu de la mestra és que l’alumnat tingui estratègies per saber què cal fer si es troben en una situació de ciber assetjament. Mitjançant l’aplicació del MENTIMETER, l’alumnat escriu emocions o sentiments que creuen que pot sentir el protagonista del vídeo.

• Les classes duren un total de 50 minuts i en els 10 minuts restants, l’alumnat pot sortir 10 minuts al passadís a esbargir-se. Surten sense cap professora i molts d’ells aprofiten per jugar als jocs al terra del passadís. Les classes estan molt ben aïllades.

PE (6th grade; girls)

Parece ser que en Estonia, durante las clases de Educación Física, siempre han hecho un grupo para los niños y otro para las niñas. Olga, de directora de la escuela nos ha explicado que están intentando que la Educación Física sea mixta.

Hoy hemos podido disfrutar de una clase impresionante con Karin, especialista en Educación Física. El grupo de 12 estudiantes trabajaba la orientación. Les ha dado un mapa del pueblo a cada uno (ella previamente había escondido 8 pistas) y los ha dejado en el pueblo. El objetivo de la actividad es fomentar la autonomía del alumnado.

Durante la clase, Karin nos ha enseñado la organización de la temática de orientación des de 1r curso. También ha compartido otros materiales muy interesantes. Gracias, Karin! Nos ha encantado!

KOSTIVERE SCHOOL

CONTEXT

Olga, the principal of Kostivere school, told us that Kostivere has 753 inhabitants. It belongs to the Harju region in Estonia, situated 30 minutes away from Tallinn, the capital, and near Jagala river and the Baltic sea. She added that most of the families live in the countryside but work in the city of Tallinn.

Kostivere school is a public school. Parents do not have to pay for anything, therefore, they have breakfast and lunch included. The school starts on the 1st September and finished on the 10th June. There are 2 weeks off at Christmas and a week of in April, not a religious holiday because people are either Orthodox or Protestant.

Olga emphasizes the fact that they enjoy having autonomy from the government to choose what classes are taught outside the building, choose the book and also decide whether the students have to do homework or not. The principal has also the power to give incentives to quality teachers.

WELCOMING

Olga told us that it is a public school that has 114 students and 24 teachers. They start classes at 08:30 and finish at 16:00. They have students aged from 7 to 16 years whose families have a very good socio economic and cultural background. Kostivere school was built in 1984 but it was rebuilt in 2013, therefore, their facilities are almost brand new. They have a skate park, a gym with an attached room of workout machines, a football field, a basketball court and a canteen. They do not have a theatre because they use a Cultural Center a few minutes away from the school.

Dues alumnes amb molt bon nivell d’anglès ens varen ensenyar l’escola. Les 8 professores d’Itàlia i l’Isaac i jo vam poder veure totes les aules de l’escola.  L’Anni, una de les alumnes, ens explicava que de 1r fins a 4t, l’alumnat no canvia d’aula tot i canviar de matèria, en canvi; l’alumnat de 5è en endavant, l’alumnat va d’una classe a l’altre perquè tenen classes específiques de música, plàstica, matemàtiques, Anglès, laboratori i informàtica. 

En toda la escuela hay 6 alumnos con necesidades especiales que solamente comparten espacios con la resta del alumnado cuando comen, a la hora del recreo y en fiestas o celebraciones especiales. En cada curso, no hay mas de 20 alumnos por clase, un verdadero lujo!