Spanish children versus American children

After only three days of my language assistant job, being called "tee-chair" (teacher) by all of the kids, and being looked at like a crazy person when I tell kids my name is Kendall, I have already noticed the way these Spanish children act in comparison to the American children I am used to working with.


Similarities

They are eager to tell you what is on their minds.

• Even with a language barrier, these kids try to tell me the most random things.  The other day, a four year old boy was telling me about the type of wood he liked, and the tree I was sitting beside.  Today another four year old told me that his hands were the bad ones making him hit other kids.  Before that a five year old girl told me her whole family speaks Spanish like she does and that she absolutely could not speak English.  

They are full of questions.

• Where is your smock?  Are you Alice?  What is your name? Is this your book? Is that your son? What language do you speak? ...These are the questions all children ask; no matter where you are.  

The cutest ones are the worst behaved.

• Its true everywhere.  Today I had to keep getting after a boy named Emmanuel because he kept hitting another boy.  He's the one who told me his hands were bad, not him.  I kept an eye on him after that... and he kept an eye on me.  But he is absolutely adorable, big brown eyes, a little smaller than some of the others, too cute for his own good.  And worse off is he knows he's cute.  

Differences

There are no gender roles for children.  

• I cannot tell you how many little boys I have seen holding hands, hugging, and just generally showing affection to other little boys.  In one particular situation I watched as one little boy stroked the hair of another boy laying down with his head on the other boy's lap.  It was precious.  These kids have not been raised thinking that boys must constantly show their strength or how macho they are.  They are children. That's it.  

Kids here are not tattle tails.

• If someone does something to them, they take care of it.  They practice what I tried to teach all summer; they solve their own problems.  Of course, if another kid does actually hurt them, they'll surely tell you who it was and what they did. However, the petty "he called me this," She looked at me weird" is not a thing they do here.  

Bodies are bodies.

• These kids change in front of each other and use the bathroom in front of each other, and its no big deal.  Now the safe guarding children training in me tells me this is wrong, but once you see how absolutely normal/ brother and sister kind of situation it is, you start to wonder why it has to be such a big deal in America.  It's a culture thing, I know.

They eat all their food.

• The school requires the kids to eat all of their food. And this is not hot dogs or pizza. They eat Pork chops, carrots, rice, bananas, pasta, fish, tomatoes, EVERYTHING.  Now I can't talk, I was the American child not eating half of the food she was given.  But, these kids are expected to eat the food and that is that.  Some still cry... but they do it.

School is from 9:30-5:30.

• Apparently the U.S. is the only insane place that starts school before 9:00.  But, I think I'm better for it... just personally.  Even the poor little preschoolers, starting at two years old, are at school until 5:30pm.  Its kind of crazy and makes for a really long day, even when I only come in for the last half.