Coming into this year I had only been exposed to the private american student. This is a student who actively searches out education in the form of private lessons in a specific area of study. They are typically excited about the subject matter, and want to be engaged in a one on one back and forth over practices, history, etc. As a student myself, I was always engaged and excited to be in the classroom. My idea was that if I needed to be there I might as well take advantage of my time and learn what I could during that class. 

 

Being a professor this year has taught me that this kind of student is VERY rare. I have found some kindred spirits in my classes and have learned to appreciate them, allowing them to be vocal and involved. At first, I was very discouraged to find so few of these students, but over time I have noticed that the students’ learning styles were as varied as their fingerprints. I have found some students who require an extra amount of attention to bring them to want to participate; these have been the most interesting to watch develop, as leaving them unattended usually results in an unruly class, whereas giving them a few moments of specialized attention can make them some of the best students in the class! I have also seen the opposite, where an originally attentive student becomes uninterested and unruly when the subject matter is not challenging enough for them. Finally, there is the student who is not interested in being in class at all, this has proven to be the most difficult to work with as they cannot be motivated by any means.

 

The Spanish public school student is one with many facets and learning them all has been an overall rewarding challenge.