19 October 2012

Italian primary school experiences :: {two}

Just a difference I've noted...

Italian teachers don't provide copious handouts for parents at meetings.

Really. I've been at this for a few years now, and I've just now discovered / remembered / realized that when I attend a meeting I am expected to be prepared to take notes. Yes. Take notes with my pen on paper that I provide. This most recent meeting I came prepared with a few index cards that I grabbed from my desk as I left my school to head to her school, but in the past I've scribbled things on envelopes or other scraps pulled from my bag, often with borrowed pens. Once I used my iPhone only to discover later that Young One deleted the notes.

Since I arrived prepared this time and was not frantically searching for paper and pen, I was able to calmly observe:  The women matter-of-factly pulled smart little notebooks of varying sizes, some lined, others not,  from their designer bags and then each assuredly reached in for pens, most from little pen pouches, just as the meeting started. Organized and Prepared.  And you always wonder why they need those huge designer bags! There is a lot of stuff to tote around to be this organized. The five teachers shared important information over the course of the hour, and every single person took notes. There was no brochure, no handout, no flyer adorned with clip art, no "Can you forward me the PowerPoint slides?" and certainly no follow-up email. Some things will later be posted on the website.

What a novel idea: I am accountable. I am responsible. I am not wasting more paper. I am paying attetion to every word the teacher says.

I love it. (At least now that I am prepared. Now that I understand most of what is said. Before I hated it. A handout for translation later would be so, well, handy. It would also make me lazy & lessen my motivation to listen. And listening, my friends, is how I have learned most of the Italian I know, which is really abysmal. It's a big ol' love / hate cycle for me...but, I digress...)

Do you know how much paper I see wasted in a single day? Do you know how many handouts I get when I attend meetings in the American part of my world, handouts that largely go directly to the recycling bin? Do you know the level of attention that people give the speaker when there is no follow-up document, no handy flyer?

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Disclaimer: I hate generalizations. This is my limited experience at my daughter's tiny primary school lost in northern Italy. If you have a different experience with this, please share!

notes on Young One's Italian primary school :: {one}
Posts labeled "Italian Education"

11 comments:

  1. Huh. Until you mentioned it, I too had failed to notice the mysterious absence of handouts. None at work. None at school. PLENTY from the grocery stores though. However, I'm grateful for that last one. It's not like grocery stores hold weekly public meetings to discuss their discounts.

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    1. And plenty in my mailbox every single day!

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  2. amen....and thanks for the heads up. i am going to prepare a tiny notebook and pouch of pens and work on my nodding head gestures so that it appears i am following everything that is said...which sadly, no matter how hard i try, i am not. ;)

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    1. Keep at it! It will get better. I promise.

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  3. In the public schools around here, parents take turns to buy A4 packs (and other supplies), and there's a rumor that the provincia won't have money to pay for the heating this year - we'll see.
    I have very limited experience with handouts of any kind, as I never take them, because I know I won't read them.

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    1. Ah yes...thanks for the gentle reminder that I have not yet brought in the requested pack of A4 paper for Young One!
      It is quite difficult to imagine Italian school children without heat...really?

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  4. Interesting observation! We have a new principal that is pushing us into the no flyer realm. We are a green school and thus try to walk the walk. She does robo calls with school info. It seems the robo call thing is becoming a popular means of sharing school information. Some schools here do a weekly update every Sunday. We also get texts! Have a FB page! And twitter! Seriously, just b/c we don't have paper doesn't hold us accountable. Now I have digital crap cluttering up my life ;) --- And yet, there are still some parents who say "oh, I didn't no XYZ"!! It makes me crazy.

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    1. Oh my word. Your school has come full circle. I don't think Young One's school has ever provided all the paper handouts...

      I think there is such a thing as information overkill. My school is not doing all the things you mention, but the number of informational emails sent to parents is too much for my taste. When I questioned it once, I received a CYA-type answer. I'm not exactly into CYA, so I was a bit put off by it. At any rate, people feel compelled to use "I didn't know," as an excuse so very often that I think our admin team feels obligated to tell them over and over and over again. I hate it. I believe we should have a centralized, secure place for them to come to for info...HA. Never will that happen!

      d

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  5. Dana, think about Liceo Quadri. Wireless and consequently paperless... We should try that too...
    M

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  6. I really enjoy reading about your life in Italy, especially about your daughter.
    This is the first time I have commented too. I was born in Sicily and moved to the States many many years ago. Comunque, a presto!

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    1. Welcome and nice to meet you, sort of.
      D

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