A teacher from Spain, shocked by what she found in schools in Romania: “They told me I was a communist. Unthinkable”
A young Spanish teacher who taught for three years in a bilingual high school in Romania says she was surprised by the low level of demand and the lack of discipline in the schools. Carmen spoke openly about her experience in a YouTube interview, comparing the Romanian system to that of Spain and criticizing the way grades are given and student behavior tolerated.
A teacher from Spain was shocked by what she found in Romanian schools PHOTO: Video capture
Carmen, a 29-year-old teacher, told in an interview given to the influencer José Climent, for the YouTube channel “Fortfast WTF”, how the three years spent at the department in Romania were. The young woman says that the differences with the Spanish education system are huge, especially in terms of discipline and school requirements.
The teacher explained that in Romania the scoring system is from 0 to 10, but, in practice, “grades are 8, 9 and 10″. According to her, any lower grade is viewed almost as an offense.
“If you give them a seven, (students no) will feel like you gave them a two, and then the parents will seek you out (to talk to you no). Once, a mother wrote to me at 11.30pm asking why her daughter got a 7”said Carmen.
“Such behavior is completely unthinkable in Spain”
Carmen says the real shock came when she saw what was happening during class. She describes a widespread lack of discipline: students eating in class, walking in and out as they please, or even falling asleep on the benches.
“In Romania you can sit with your phone in class and nothing happens. You can sleep in class and still nothing happens” she said. The teacher points out that “such behavior is completely unthinkable in Spain”.
The young woman also recounted an episode that left her speechless: at the beginning of class, a student came to the classroom and told her that the delivery man had brought her food and she had to go pick it up. “He came back with the KFC menu and ate in class“, said Carmen. She also claims that in Romania “students come in and out of classes when they want“.
“They made me a communist because I still give them a four”
The teacher also noticed that, for many students, everything that is strict or demanding is associated with “communismCarmen says that she was even offended by the fact that sometimes she gives low marks.
“In fact, they told me I was a communist. What I want to tell you is that I am very bad because I sometimes give them a four. They look at me angrily and say: communist, communist“, she reported.
“The level of demand is extremely low. It's a completely different world”
Carmen is of the opinion that the fundamental problem is the very low level of demand in the Romanian system. “The level of demand in Romania is extremely low. I think they were again in last place in the PISA report. It's a completely different world“, she said, quoted by the Huffington Post.
Romania's results in the PISA tests, the study conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which assesses the skills of 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics and science, seem to confirm these observations. In 2022, Romania ranked last in this international ranking.
After the three years spent in Romania, Carmen says that the experience made her look at the system in her country differently. “Here (in Romania no) I learned to appreciate much more what I had in Spain“, concluded the teacher.
