I woke up early on Monday morning with a strange nervous excited feeling that I hadn’t felt in a while. Why was I nervous? Monday was the first day of school. I was excited to go to for the first official observation for my teacher education. I have been looking forward to starting volunteering in the schools and doing observations since the beginning of the semester. As the service learning part of the course, we will be volunteering in English classrooms in Sansepolcro for the rest of our time here in Italy every Monday morning. I am also taking Educational Psychology. I am excited to do my practicum in the Italian schools to see how the theories I have been learning in class are applied in the schools here.
Students in Italy are required to go to school from age six to age sixteen. There is a kindergarten that students attend from ages three to six. It is paid for by the state, but it is optional. From age six to eleven, a child will go to primary school. In primary school, students have the same teacher all day. That teacher teaches a little bit of all the subjects. Students go to middle school from eleven to fourteen, and then high school from fourteen to nineteen. In middle school and high school, students take eight of nine classes year round. They have a different teacher for each subject. Students stay in the same classroom all day. Teachers move from one class to the next. Students in Italy start university at twenty.
All Italy’s schools are controlled at the national level and the curriculum is the same everywhere in the country. Private schools do exist, but most students go to public school. Most school days last from 8:30 to 1:00. Students go home for lunch with their families. However, Italian children go to school on Saturdays. By high school, students choose an area of specialization and go to a specific school based on what they choose. In Sansepolcro, there is a scientific high school, an economic high school, an art high school, and a professional high school which teaches a trade. There are more choices in some larger cities. Students can attend classical schools and communications schools if they live in a town such as Arezzo.
In order to become a teacher in Italy, you must attend university and pass a state exam. The test is only offered every few years. Teaching is considered a very important profession and teachers receive a lot of respect from the community. However, once teachers are hired, they cannot be fired. Even if teachers do something really bad, they can only be moved to an office job in the school. This can be a problem because there is no way to ensure that teachers are doing their jobs. Teaching is a very desirable job because it is a government job and is very secure. Teaching comes with good benefits such as summers off.
The challenges faced by schools in Italy are not very different from the challenges faced by schools in America. There are a lot of students in each class. There is limited funding for education in the current financial climate. There are many students who do not speak Italian and have to learn it as a second language. Technologically, their classrooms seem to be less advanced as those in America. The classes I was in did not have computers or projectors. However, the students do have to develop computer literacy and must pass a test in information technology in order to get a job.
I am volunteering and observing in the economic high school. It is about a ten minute walk from where I live. I visited the school for the first time on Thursday to meet the English teacher I will be working with. She is extremely nice and I will enjoy getting to spend time in her classes. Dr. Andreini came with me to explain what types of assignments I needed to do for Educational Psychology. There were students passing by us because it was a transition time. Although the school was in an old historic building, it didn’t look much different from my high school.
For the first lesson on Monday, I introduced myself to the classes I will be helping in. I made a power point presentation and showed them pictures of my house, family, and pets. I talked about my life and they asked me questions about the United States. I discussed my daily routine because the class was working on the vocabulary for their daily routines. It was really exciting to speak to all of them. I enjoyed answering their questions about my life. Spending time in this classroom reminds me of all the times I spent in Italian and Spanish language classes. My experience with learning another language helps me to understand what types of things to talk about and how to speak slowly and clearly.
I am looking forward to going back next week and discussing holidays in the United States. We are going to talk about Christmas and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Italy. Some essentials of thanksgiving, such as sweet potatoes for example, are not available here. I am excited to get to tell them about one of my favorite holidays. I am preparing a slideshow on why we celebrate it and, of course, what we eat. Maybe I will even include corn, every Meredith student’s favorite!
The experience was fun and educational. I am excited to see what is in store for the rest of my school visits. I think that this service learning project will strengthen my commitment to learning and volunteer work. I am glad that we have such an excellent way to give back to the community of Sansepolcro, which has welcomed us. A lot of exciting things are coming up in the future. This Saturday we are travelling to Perugia for the Eurochocolate festival!
Ciao,
Meredith
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