16 March 2015

italian education :: 26 :: going public

We are going public.

After nearly ten years of private institutions, from nido to asilo to scuola primaria, we have enrolled our pre-teen in a local public Italian middle school for next year.

Just a little anxiety about that in our family.
Just a little.
The kind that comes even with in-depth research that leads to confident decision making.
It's just how we roll. All of us.

We expect some changes...the first and most obvious striking contrast is the facility. She is moving from marble staircases and welcoming corridors filled with student art in an historic building to graffiti-stained parking spaces and grey, empty walls in a more "modern" space.  Secondly, we expect to encounter restricted access, a move from daily opportunities to chat with teachers to closed doors and strict conference schedules. A third obvious change is diversity...as in, there will finally be some. I am hoping that this diversity will be a positive experience as it is one major drive of our choice. I fear it as much as I welcome it.  I like controlling the environments she encounters and homogeneous settings often allow me to do so; I hope we are not headed down the wrong path.

I should probably mention that she, along with twenty-three classmates, was selected to be part of a class that engages in music at a more intense level than the other classes for the three years of middle school, essentially a special class within the school. As you might imagine, I like that...that little bit of homogeneity within the walls of diversity.

Really, maybe I AM the only one with anxiety over the type of institution. The kiddo is just worried about making friends in a new school...the same as any normal sixth grader.

I'm taking lots of deep breaths.


Disclaimer: I hate generalizations as much as you do, probably more. This is my limited experience at my fifth grader's tiny primary school lost in Northern Italy. If you have a different experience with this, please share!






6 comments:

  1. I think you have a right to be a little nervous as private schools do come with lots of amazing qualities, but public schools can be just as good if it has the right parent support and quality teachers.

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    1. YES! I know that each can be great. I am a product of Catholic schools but I have always taught in public schools. I believe in public education.
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  2. I don't have any experience of private schools in italy, only the public ones, and well - you're right to be concerned. Middle school is quite often a vacuum between elementary, and the "weeding" that liceo provides. Fortunately, you live in an area with options, and should this particular school not work, you can always change at any time!

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    1. I read...
      concerned, vacuum, school not work.

      I hope it works out. I really do.
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  3. I understand all of your trepidations. I grew up attending only private Catholic schools all the way from 1st grade through college. I had an amazing experience in school, I loved it. But things were different for my kids. We live in avery different culture and education system. Here's my two cents based on our experience with 3 in all sorts of schools - public, private, alternative, homeschool. (our oldest is a hs senior, and we have 3 kids) I have found that in terms of social fairness (and this is critical in middle school and high school), that hands down public schools are better than private. This is especially important in middle school, when some kids really will mistreat one another. Here private school students tend to get away with bad behavior more than public, as parents are paying and so kids get a bit spoiled. The administration in private schools tends to have their hands tied and have less willingness to deal with bad behavior. In public schools I have found the admin to be more fair, more on top of problems, and more sane. Also you should see the facilities where our kids go to school. Really run down. But the spirit is good, the kids are kind, the teachers are kind and caring. And that is what makes the difference to kids, not how fancy the buildings are. It bothers me way more it bothers them. Also diversity is a good thing. As Annabel said to me, when we were looking at a school with many different ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds, "Mom, it's the real world." Also, the music sounds great. I think it will be fine. Change is always hard, but it'll work.

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    1. Thanks for the wisdom, Theresa. I, too, went to Catholic schools until I reached college. We were held to a very, very high standard and the expectations applied to us 24/7, not that we were angels!

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