"If a Catalan teacher were to set foot in my school, it might shock him."
Mireia Oró teaches at a primary school in a very idiosyncratic neighborhood in East London, where 90% of the families come from Bangladesh and some from Somalia.
LondonMireia Oró is a 36-year-old Barcelona native who has lived in the United Kingdom for almost fourteen years. She teaches at a primary school in a very idiosyncratic area of East London. Mulberry Canon Barnett Primary School is a co-educational public school for students aged 4 to 11. It is located next to Brick Lane, the street that immortalized Monica Ali in the novel of the same name. This street is also known for its curry restaurants, the smell of which can be felt everywhere, and for its markets. vintage. Besides, It is very close to Commercial Street and Whitechapel Street, two arteries in the areas of Spitalfields and Whitechapel, respectively, closely linked to the historical and legendary figure of Jack the Ripper, who chose his victims in a pub, The Ten Bells, at number 84 Commercial Street.
If the boys and girls at Mireia's school were teenagers and not children, rather than talking about this murderer of women, which they might also do, they should debate the immigrant adventures of Samad Iqbal, one of the key characters in another postcolonial novel, White teeth, by Zadie Smith. Because Samad is Bangladeshi, which is the family origin of "90 or 92% of the students at Mulberry Canon Barnett," along with some families from Somalia, Professor Oró points out. As a public school, places are obtained based on place of residence. And that part of London, the Towler Hamlets borough, is a traditional settlement area for the Bangladeshi community.
According to the 2021 census data, of the 310,000 residents there, almost 44,000 were born in Bangladesh: 14% of the population. And when family origins are analyzed regardless of place of birth, 34.6% of Tower Hamlets residents associate them with Bangladesh. Roughly 107,000 people. So, the figures she's referring to shouldn't be surprising. "If a Catalan teacher were to set foot in my school, it might shock them," says Mireia, who, despite everything, doesn't perceive herself as teaching in a ghetto, but who does acknowledge the obvious peculiarities, and also the challenges, that this can cause.
For example, her classmates don't accept the only white boy, who is from Albania and is Muslim like them. White, like herself, in a "multicultural school." Ideally, no doubt. Orón is A culturally Christian girl who doesn't practice religion and who teaches Muslim students who are religious. At least at home. I live. A graduate in English Philology from the University of Barcelona, I didn't know where to go after finishing my degree.
It arrived in December 2011, a period in which Virtually no one was talking about Brexit yetA friend dragged her to a party, and she fell in love with a friend of a friend. His name is Darren, and he's a graphic designer. The man became her husband on September 11, 2019. "It was a Wednesday, a day when getting married at the registry office was free." It's best not to talk about Brexit with her in-laws—"which really angered me"—despite having an immigrant in the family.
Long before getting married, in September 2012, Mireia started working at the same school where she still works. Since then, she's done all the AUC paperwork: she works as a trainee teacher, as an assistant teacher, and for nine years now, she's become a qualified teacher, and her responsibilities are increasing. She has taught classes for all ages: last year, 10- and 11-year-olds—"very hard"—now, 6- and 7-year-olds, "more relaxed." Mulberry Canon Barnett is a very small institution, with no more than 170 students. The usual class ratio is 1:30, although this school has a 1:22 ratio. What's different with the school in Catalonia? "Although resources are scarce, and are becoming increasingly scarce, everything is free: all materials are provided by the school." Lunch is free too, and even the morning clubs, which take place before school starts.
She considers herself reasonably well paid, but she works more hours than a clock. Be that as it may, it's a salary that isn't exactly rocket science in the British capital, especially given the sky-high housing prices. "I'm already at school at 7:30 a.m.; many days I leave after 6:00 p.m." Classes finish no later than 3:00 p.m., but the preparation work is, or could be, endless. It's even more so when there's no textbook to follow, but rather a curriculum and objectives to meet.
Mireia not only works from dawn to dusk, Monday to Friday, but she's also a volunteer teacher at theCatalan School London, a typical one Saturday School like there are so many across the UK, where he teaches Catalan to children of the Catalan community, with a group of friends. become people.
