Learning about & Sharing Culture in the Classroom in Italy

Being immersed in Italian culture has taught me a tremendous amount. The language, the culture, and more is completely different than what I am used to. But as time has progressed and I have adapted and continued being open to the culture, I have felt at home. Just last night while having dinner with my host family, I had a conversation about the Montessori style of schooling. My host mother was eager to share her insight as Maria Montessori, the pioneer of the Montessori style of schooling, came from Italy. Furthermore, being immersed in Italian culture at an Italian school has taught me more than I could imagine.

Italians greet each other very warmly with a kiss on each cheek. When I had my initial meeting with the Principal and my Supervising Practitioner at my school, the principal greeted me with a kiss on each each cheek in true Italian fashion. I knew that I was not at my pre-practicum school in West Roxbury anymore.

Despite the language barrier, my students are warm and welcoming. Whenever an adult walks into the classroom, even if he or she leaves the room for a minute to make a copy of a worksheet, the students stand up and greet the adult who is entering the room. Before class starts, I make an effort to talk to them in the area they arrive to school at and in the classroom before class starts to see how they are. They usually share with me what they did over the weekend or how their recent class field trip was. I have learned more about Futbol than I expected I would while student teaching. Week after week, my students have been quizzing me on the Futbol players and teams they have taught me about in conversation.

            One of my first lessons was about Earthquakes and Wildfires. I selected this topic in collaboration with my Supervising Practitioner as it is a personal topic that affects where I am from in California quite often. Through this lesson, I feel as though my students learned a lot about who I am because I was able to share a major part of my culture. Additionally, my students learned scientific concepts in English including the concept that tectonic plates colliding results in Earthquakes. I selected “unpredictable” as one of my focus words of the lesson as I spent a good amount of time emphasizing the unpredictability of earthquakes. The majority of my students were not aware of Earthquake drills or Earthquake preparedness. I was able to share with them tips on building an Earthquake kit, and many students expressed an interest in wanting to create an Earthquake kit for their own homes as Italy is at risk for earthquakes.

            Throughout my time at Maria Luigia School, I am constantly thinking about what it would be like to be an English Language Learner student in the USA: not fully understanding what my teacher or my peers were saying, let alone the content of the lessons. I am always trying to put myself in the shoes of my students who are learning a foreign language. I am familiar with their situation as I am learning Italian. My Italian skills are basic, and although I am progressively growing more confident in my speaking abilities, I cannot 100% rely on them to get through day-to-day situations. This has taught me to listen carefully, be concise in my communication and be persistent, all of which I believe are crucial qualities for a teacher to have. Sometimes we learn that what is important to those in another country is not much different from what is important to us. In my international practicum, I have learned to take in the culture that surrounded me and began to admire, respect, and practice the ways of a foreign country. I am eager to continue learning more about Italian culture and sharing more about American culture with my students at Maria Luigia.