Spanish norms of education that to Americans, are not so normal

I have been working in the Spanish Education system for 4 months now; and in these 4 months I've learned a lot more about Spanish culture and Education- more notably, the differences between American culture and education.
The reason these differences jump out at me like a rubia in a sea of morenos is possibly because I've studied education... I have a very pricey piece of paper saying I know my material! Not only have I myself played the part of a student for at least 20 or 21 years, but I have also played teacher- I know what it takes, what is expected, the norms and more! Yes, I still obviously have a lot to learn and I am not a professional, but it does not take a professional to notice these notables:
1) My name in the classroom in America: Ms. Dixon.   My name in the Spanish classroom: Chelsea.  That is right, Spain throws formality out of the window and calls all of the adults in the schools by their first names! We have Vicente (the principal!) Elena, Maria Jose, MariCarmen, Ferran, Susana, etc etc etc.

2) Dress Code. Spaniards say: "what's that and why are you so dressed up?".  In the US as a student teacher, I wore dress pants and nice blouses and shoes EVERYDAY (maybe I would dare to rock jeans on friday... maybe) Here in Spain it is expected that you wear jeans, or leggings, or sundresses, or tank tops, or skirts. And flip flops and sneakers are the normal footwear (and of course fabulous Boots)

3) Classroom management. Now everyone who did NOT major in Education I'm sure remembers in their elementary school having rules and incentives. Rules posted on the walls, jars of marbles, sticker charts, names on blackboards, index cards (red, yellow and green)... I could go on for days!  Except now I'm Spain and the only classroom management plans I can find are in my portfolio (oh and thanks Cortland for deleting that soon)
 But seriously, there is no classroom management, and for the most part in my school, the kids do fine without it! It makes me wonder if I wasted semesters upon semesters formulating lesson plans, classroom management plans, and writing philosophies of education?? Yes, Sometimes kids can be rude and interrupt and they can get rowdy and hard to control, but for the most part, there is no real plan, no "sense of community", no positive/negative reinforcement... nada.... sort of

4) Ok, so there may be some sort of punishment. Here are the two punishments I've seen... Loss of Patí (Recess)... and get this... writing a sentence 100 times. Is this 1950? I have seen students sit in class the whole time and write "No hablaré en la fila" (I will not speak in line) or "Llevaré a la escuela mi cuaderno" (I will bring my notebook to school). 

5) "I don't feel good, can I go to the Nurse?" is a phrase that came out of my mouth a few hand full of times throughout my years. But in Spain, or at least in my school... there is no School Nurse! Sorry kids... you're stuck... until....

6) Break time.  The whole school (minus the teachers who supervise) goes on break from 11 am until 1130 am. At this point in the day, the kids whip out their bocadillos (hero's/subs/hoagies) or large pieces of delicious bread and chow down and play futbol outside.

7) Then from 1130-1230, the kids go back to school. But at 12:30, they're free again! They can go home to eat with their families the big Comida, or some stay at school to eat and play futbol again. They don't come back until 3pm when school resumes until 4:45! (What a long day!)

8) Transportation. All students either walk to school, or are driven-there are no school buses. The parents then stand at the gate and watch their kid until they enter the building and they wave goodbye and blow lots of kisses.  On excurcións (field trips), the school rents big COACH buses to buss the 7 year-olds around- what a life! American kids would pee their pants if they knew!

9)Teacher/Student Contact and interaction- In Spain, it is perfectly acceptable for a teacher to give a student a little tap on the butt (playfully) or for a student to return the action to a teacher (yes, they got me too)... and no one looks twice at it! (except for me!!) I am not used to this- i am used to avoiding hugs from students! Here, if you dont hug a student, or touch someones hand or shoulder or back while talking to them- its almost considered rude!
Students are also very free and nonchalant with their vocabulary. Although I am not fluent and do not know all the "dirty" words in Spanish, I do know some and I'm pretty sure I hear them flying around daily! (of course unpunished!)  The teachers laugh!

What Ive thought about from these differences, is America takes things too seriously. Maybe if we tone down the rules and expectations and social norms, then maybe kids will calm down. Rules were meant to be broken, but if there are no rules, students will have no reason to do wrong, there's no thrill of  the chance getting caught or getting in trouble! And then maybe teachers and students would all be a little happier at school and maybe our education, intelligence and sense of fulfillment will increase.