There are two main reasons for my lack of blogging as of late:
1. I have been incredibly busy with work for the school.
2. When you have nothing positive to blog, it’s best not to blog anything at all.
I posted awhile ago about the responsibilities at my school for BEDA. I also mentioned that I had spoken with the coordinator regarding the issue of me being left alone during one of my classes my first week. Well, even after the coordinator called and spoke with my school, they had a meeting with me and informed me that I would be left alone with the students because that was the way that they had designed the auxiliar hour to function. I didn’t bother to mention this again to my coordinator because I thought that maybe I could cope with the situation. I was able to deal with that aspect pretty well, just like I thought. However, I could not get use to the amount of students that I was responsible for and the amount of lesson planning that I had to do. I spent over 7 hours on Sunday researching lessons and videos for my 6 Monday classes. I knew this week would be the true test of whether I could handle being at this school because it was the first week with full school days. All of September was half days, so I didn’t have the majority of my assigned primary students.
Turns out that this school and I are just not compatible. I had a complete breakdown yesterday and made the decision to call the coordinator again first thing in the morning and tell her that I could not handle the situation at my school. During my commute to the school this morning, I called the coordinator and explained my situation to her and she offered to switch me to a different school. I happily agreed. I should mention that my main issue with the school was that they were treating me like I was a legitimate teacher rather than an auxiliar.
Tomorrow I have my NIE appointment at the comisaria at 8:30 in the morning and will be starting at my new school afterwards. My new school is in another region of Madrid, so I won’t even be in Majadahonda anymore. My commute will likely be a little longer and I’ll be working less hours, but I will GLADLY make those sacrifices in order to maintain my sanity. I’ll keep you all posted about the NIE appointment and my first day at my new school.
¡Hablamos Luego!
P.S. To my friends back home: I am terribly sorry for my lack of communication. I promise that it was due to lack of time, not my lack of missing you all since I miss you all terribly! Now that I’m switching schools, I should have more time to talk 🙂
Lady in Spain 
Oct 02, 2012 @ 20:39:20
Oh my gosh! I am so sorry. This is exactly what happened to me. The school acted like I was an actual teacher and not an auxiliar. It’s bizarre because the school was also in Majadahonda but I think you told me it wasn’t the same school. I had a breakdown in front of the jefa de estudios at the school I worked at who kept telling me I was doing an awful job and not pulling my weight.
However I switched to a different school and things got a bit better. I didn’t love the new school but I managed to stick through it and I’m glad I did.
I hope things work out at your new school!
Oct 05, 2012 @ 12:22:45
I’m soooo happy that BEDA switched me to a different school. The teachers at the new school are amazing and we work together to decide what I’ll be doing during classes. Plus, it’s nice to work with people who don’t treat you like their personal lackey.
Oct 02, 2012 @ 21:46:10
Ughhh!! That’s insane! I hope the new school works out better for you!
Oct 04, 2012 @ 11:08:13
Glad to hear you changed schools. Auxiliares are not teachers. I also did the BEDA program in Madrid last year. It’s one of the lower paying language assistant programs, so if they expect people to work in the same capacity as a school teacher they should pay a proper salary. Otherwise we’re there to ASSIST the teachers, not replace them or make up for their *ahem* “linguistic deficiencies”. Sadly, these stories of auxiliar exploitation and language assistants being unhappy in schools are all too common.
Oct 04, 2012 @ 18:21:01
Sorry to hear you were being taken advantaged of at your school. I wonder if it would be possible to switch to the government program? I’ve read there have been a lot of no shows and there are a bunch of schools with vacancies. But anyway, hopefully you like your new school much more!
Oct 05, 2012 @ 12:20:30
Yeah, I’m very happy with my new school!! I had actually thought about contacting the ministry program to ask about vacancies if BEDA didn’t help me. Thankfully, things worked out in my favor 🙂
How were your first days as an auxiliar?