Italy has a very proud, traditional, family-oriented culture. They have long ties with the Catholic Church, and have a vibrant soccer community. The culture of the country comes to surface in the classroom community in various ways.
One way in which this familial culture is recognized in the school is the schedule. The school day ends at 1:20, just in time for students to make it home for lunch. Meals as a family are a huge part of Italian culture. It is a time for families to be together, talk together, and celebrate together. Most stores and shops are closed in the mid afternoons for a siesta type period of time, so that shop owners can have lunch at home as well. However, Italy's economy is forcing some cultural change as well. As it becomes more and more necessary for both parents to work, a large family lunch and siesta becomes less feasible. This dichotomy is represented in the the after school program. For an additional fee, students remain at school until 3 pm, and receive a hot lunch, playtime in the courtyard, and homework help. The school population is split about 50/50 on students who stay and students who leave at dismissal.
Another way this family culture is represented in the school is with a very relaxed and casual environment, where students are encouraged to help each other learn, and often do. The desks are arranged in clusters or circles, never just rows facing the teacher. It is never silent in a classroom, as students speak with each other and work together on their classwork. It truly is a classroom community.
The Catholic culture of Italy is very prevalent in this school, particularly because it is a parochial school. However, it is considered an exclusive private school, with some of the best instruction in Italy, and some government officials send their children here. Additionally, the students attend mass on every major feast day and Holy Day of Obligation. On mass days, they usually have a lighter class schedule. Even more influence is prevalent in the winter break schedule. Students are out of school for an entire month, from the Feast of Saint Nicholas, until after the Epiphany. This is not a winter break, nor does it include for the possibility that students might celebrate other holidays, like Hanukkah or Winter Solstice. Again, this is so explicit because it is a Catholic school; yet the public schools have break on the exact same dates. There are no other major holiday breaks, but there is another large break in the spring, for Easter.
Lastly, is Italy's national pride, but even more so, regional pride. Italy only relatively recently because a unified country, and has a long history of separate kingdoms and regions. If you ask an Italian where he or she is from, you will hear "Florence," before you hear "Italy." Part of this regional pride today is the city's soccer team. Calcio is a huge deal to students and teachers. Ask any of the boys in my 5th grade class - and a lot of the girls too - what their favorite color is: "Purple, for Fiorentina!" There are team decorations in the hallway, and teachers will use last night's game to open class with an icebreaker to get students talking. It can be a very engaging start, but sometimes emotions may run too high, and it has the potential of making a class too rowdy, particularly if it was a loss or rivalry game.
Hi Maggie! I read your post and recognized some similarities and differences between our placements as well! Ecuadorian culture is also very family-oriented and everyone in the family looks out for one another, cares for one another, and spends a lot of time with one another. There are also religious ties that are evident in the surrounding culture and a love of "fútbol." The schedule and school body at my school is similar in some ways to that of your practicum. Because many of the parents of the students are required to work during the day as you stated, the students in my class are about 5 years old and are already in "1st grade" where in the US they would be in Kindergarten because their parents need to get them into school earlier. Likewise, the school day for these younger students ends around 12:10 for them to get home to be with their families. Older students in many cases have the mornings off while the younger kids are in school and after lunch they come to school from the afternoon until the evening. I also agree that a sense of community is present in the classroom. Partially due to space requirements, the students are always taught as a whole group and although the work is usually individual, they sit at tables or in long connected rows of desks. Country pride is definitely prevalent and taught to these students from a young age. They are educated on the indigenous cultures and celebrations of Ecuador and I have seen the teacher have the students do coloring or other activities pertaining to Ecuadorian Flag Day for example. I have noticed the presence of the Catholic culture for example in the small prayer-song the students recite before eating their morning snack/lunch and although the fanatic soccer culture is not as prevalent within the school, I have experienced that culture throughout my time here in Ecuador.
ReplyDeleteHey Leah! Thanks for your comment - so cool that we have a lot of similarities in our pracs, but we're so far from each other. That's a really interesting schedule, where the older students have the morning off. I remember in my Adolescent Psych class with Professor Lerner, we talked about how a lot of the sleep studies that have been done on adolescents show they need more sleep in order to function well in the classroom. Yet, in America, most high schools start even earlier than elementary schools. Maybe Ecuador is looking at this research!
Delete