School Week Uno

This was my first week of being in the school every day, and I lovvvved it! I am realizing so many differences between the Italian schools and America schools. Here’s a few so far! (And these are just my opinions and perceptions from what I’ve learned so far - in no way am I judging either method.)

Teachers teach the same class from grade 1 until grade 5, moving with the students as they enter a new grade each year. So not only do all the student stay with the same teacher, they also continue with the same classmates each year. The friendships of the students and the positive relationship between the student and the teachers that I have witnesses are so close! Everyone seems like a family, and I love it!

The teachers only teach specific subjects, meaning that each class technically has more than one teacher each year. Due to the fact that the teachers don’t teach every subject, they don’t work the entire school day, and the times that they work are different each day. In addition, each teacher has an assistant in the classroom at all times to help with tasks such as checking student work, monitoring the students, etc. 

Not specific to Italian school, but in regards to Italy in general: coffee is a big deal! There is a coffee vending machine at the school I am placed at, and during breaks, after lunch, or just whenever, the teachers always get coffee! (I loooove this!)

School is 8:30-4:30, Monday-Friday, there is a morning break and an afternoon break, and lunch is around 1:00. There isn’t one cafeteria, but 12 different rooms called/translated to canteens. There are two classes per canteen. Lunch is always some kind of pasta (shocker), a meat, and a vegetable. And students can have as much bread and fruit as they want. Also during the morning and afternoon breaks, the school provides fruits and “biscuits” aka cookies/crackers to the students. I enjoy the fact that fruit is so popular and freely given!

In the classrooms, there is not a lot of technology use, there aren’t overly stimulating activities and handouts from Teacher’s Pay Teachers (there aren’t many handouts at all), there isn’t flexible seating, and there isn’t much “fluff.” The teacher teaches, the students listen; the teacher writes on the chalkboard, the students copy it down into their notebooks (with beautiful handwriting); the teacher instructs, the students do what they are told. At least in the classrooms I have been in, the level of respect that the students have for the teacher is wonderful. These students are intelligent too, and many of them seem to really value their education.

I just really love the students and teachers I get to work with! Although my role is to teach English, I 110% wish I knew Italian so that I could interact more with everyone and have a better idea of what is going on around me. It’s so fun to talk to the kids and to listen to their English and see them work together to figure out how to say words they’re unsure of. And when all else fails, we just smile and laugh and go on! But language differences aside, God is so good and I am so glad that He put me at this school and with these people whom I look forward to seeing every day!

Xoxo,