Elementary Education Graduate |
Elementary Education Graduate |
January 22. 2023
Now that the jet lag has subsided, and I have had the time to reflect on my journey, I can say now with confidence that this IPDS-Italy experience has changed my outlook on teaching. I am excited about my newly found skills. I am confident that I will be able to handle anything that comes in the next weeks in my student teaching placement. I have feel more empathetic towards diverse populations that I may encounter in my future classrooms and empowered from this unique opportunity that Buffalo State’s IPDS has provided. Although I did have some challenges personally while away from home, the ability to maneuver and find a way home during a crisis has provided me with the confidence and ability to conquer anything. I thank the professors, Dr. Renzoni and Dr. Weber for their frankness and their concern about this, but also for their empathetic responses as they too, have families of their own and understood my dilemma. I also thank everyone that I met in Torremaggiore, (to many names to mention and I would not want to leave someone out) for welcoming us into their town and making us feel like royalty. It was surreal. I truly felt like a celebrity. Great thanks to the Emilio Ricci school faculty and staff for their compassion and commitment to this experience with their amazing students. It was something that I will never forget. Finally, thank you to Buffalo State University for everything that you have given me to this point of my academic career. The moment I chose to return to school, for graduate studies in Childhood Education was the most pivotal moment of my life. Being able to learn under and beside my mentors has been a remarkable and empowering experience. Thank you.
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January 17, 2023
Part 2 So today was our final day in the school. It was very difficult for me to focus due to mixed emotions. Unfortunately, I am cutting my trip short and not going to the excursion to Pompeii, Sorento, and Amalfi Coast. So with this disappointment, compounded with saying goodbye to the students and teachers and now goodbye to the whole experience was quite overwhelming. I was able to say my goodbyes to both of the classes that I have worked with all week. It was bittersweet. I learned so much from this experience with the students and being immersed into a situation that was very challenging to navigate. But what an experience! This has been by far the most influential moment of my student career and my life. I learned more about myself as a person, parent, collaborator and educator. I am very proud to say that I conquered many fears and obstacles throughout this trip. Although I wouldn’t recommend this trip to everyone, I would challenge those not of the faint of heart to take the leap. There were many things that I did not consider when planning for this trip, that I will be happy to advise those that follow in our footsteps. There are things that I believe should be improved about this experience and will be discussing with my superiors at Buffalo State upon my return on Thursday. This experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity for many students, but some words of wisdom from someone who experienced it, and had to make changes to return travel might help someone make a sound decision, especially those with commitments at home. It wasn’t easy and that should emphasized. If it wasn’t for a local teacher who was willing to help me find a safe way back to Rome to catch my flight, I would have been in trouble. As with all the wonderful people that I had the privilege of meeting, she was eager to help and make me comfortable with the decision to head home early. So, this evening, once the cohort left for their event, I decided to walk the streets alone and truly contemplate all that I have experienced. As I walked down the wet streets, I looked at the faces of the people in the street and studied everything as if I was about to take an exam. I wanted to really take it all in, and am truly grateful for deciding to leave my family to try to better myself as an educator. I went through the events of the past 15 days and felt many emotions. I am happy to have experienced and learned all that I did while being away from home, but I am also very appreciative of what I have back in the United States. The privileges that we are so used to as Americans, are different to me now. I plan to move into the next phase of my student career, (student teaching) with a renewed outlook about not only teaching diverse populations of students but life. Life is a precious gift, and every moment matters. Do not waste your time or energy on things that don’t matter to you as a whole person or your success as a human being. As I continued to contemplate my life, my love of family and this experience, I decided that being my last evening in this tremendous town in this fantastic country, I should take advantage of what’s it is known for. I went and enjoyed my last gelato, followed by a cappuccino, and grabbed a chocolate croissant for the morning ride to Rome and some slices of pizza to nosh while writing my final blogs. I will wrap up my blogging career once I safely arrive at home and have the time to go over everything to make sure that I have included everything that you should know about my experience here in Italy in 2023. Until then, buona notte a tutti! January 17, 2023 The past couple days have been a little bit of a blur for me. I received news from home that my elderly father who lives with my family has fallen ill and had to be rushed to the hospital. My head and my heart have been with my family at home. I did manage to continue my commitments here in Torremaggiore with school days in the mornings and many events in the evenings. It has been so wonderful to spend the days with the students, practicing Italian and English translations with and sometimes without Google translate. William and I were able to complete all of our planned activities with the students yesterday ending with them making some fancy snowflakes! It has so interesting to see that these students crave hands on tasks just like our American students. It was a little challenging having the students follow the directions without fluent directions by us, but they all did so great and were able to finish their snowflakes. We made sure to display them around the room to be a source of pride for them. What I didn’t expect from these students is so many of them are very talented artists, at this young age of 10 years old. Some of them drawing sketches of William, Shania and myself that were quite amazing. The details of the facial features were impeccable. It seems that there must be more of an emphasis on the arts here in Italy. Yet another great idea for research…they just keep coming to me! Yesterday we also were able to lead a music instruction class for the younger grades in the gym. Cameron did a fantastic job leading us and the students to singing our Ciao, Ciao song, and You are my Sunshine. We all spread out in the gym to help facilitate the students in participating in the singing and the hand and body movements in the songs. We finished with our Buffalo Bills Shout Song, which had a great response even though most of the students (and teachers) did not know what a “Bill” was! It was still super fun to teach them our Bills team’s beloved song especially after the win this weekend. We were able to do a tour of the castle again and were able to learn about Torremaggiore’s parade, see some performances and even try on costumes! It was a fun evening! Unfortunately, late last night I received a call that made me decide to cut my adventure short, and book an earlier flight home. Although this experience is of the utmost importance to my professional development as a future educator, the ideals that I learned from my late mother prevailed, family first. January 15, 2023 This week went by like a whirlwind, and just like that we are 6 sleeps away from this trip’s end. I was lucky enough to work alongside William this week in the same two classrooms. I like that we were able to get to know the students in those two classes. I am a big believer in the importance of getting to know your students in order to be able to teach them effectively. In this case with the short amount of time that we have here, it isn’t about teaching them effectively and more about learning to make connections with diverse student populations. This experience is the epitome of doing just that. I have learned very quickly to make connections with all students. For example, in the Italian classrooms, the students are allowed to be kids, with little behavior management strategies. This allows the outgoing children to shine, but also lends to the shier children to sit back and not participate. I am the teacher that recognizes that and focuses on finding a way to connect with those students. I love all children and feel it is an important part of my job to make each one of them feel important. In one of the classes, we were able to accompany them to their physical education class. Off to the dome like gymnasium we went with the class, gym teacher and the aide. Their PE class is once per week for 2 hours, which ends up being similar to the PE schedule in Clarence. The only difference is that in Clarence, they go twice per week, for 45 minutes each. The structure of the class was very similar to ours back home, starting with a warm-up. After that they engaged in a relay type race, with a makeshift obstacle course, complete with cone stacking! The teacher then split the group of 14 into 2, gave each student either a red or yellow pinny and they began a soccer game. Imagine that! Soccer, or should I say “Futbol” 😊 In the second class of the day, a bell rang during the class. Everyone looked a little shocked and confused, and It turned out it was some sort of fire alarm or evacuation test. Much to my surprise, there was no structure to this type of drill! The students in our classroom, casually grabbed their coats, were NOT quiet and walked out into the hallway. There was no procedure in place whatsoever. I heard that in other classrooms, some students were screaming and hiding under desks! It is very different from our structured and in my opinion, a much safer drill procedure back in the United States. My thoughts went to what if this was a true emergency? Would the students get out safely? I find it hard to believe that would be the case. It seemed like complete chaos! Once the dust settled from this interruption, we were able to continue with our activities without a hitch. Will preferred to practice his Italian skills off the cuff, but I found that the use of the conversation button of the Google translate app helpful in helping the children complete their tasks. This experience has been so humbling (which I mentioned earlier). I am feeling awakened to just how small this world is and essentially all children are the same. They find joy when their teachers show interest in their lives and what they like to do outside of school. The children love to participate and practice new skills such as English words, and they all have a competitive streak. We played “around the world” with flash cards showing them either an English word or Italian word, asking them to say the word in the other language. They loved to compete against their peers, and this activity was a success. I am absolutely loving this experience being in these classrooms, and we only have 2 days left. I am going to be very sad to say goodbye. Until the next blog…buona sera a tutti! January 10, 2023 Yesterday morning started with breakfast at Cavour B&B and it was good. I had my usual coffee, juice, fresh bread with jam, cereal and meat and cheese selection. After fueling up, we headed to meet the Mayor of Torremaggiore. We walked a short time to the building where his office is, walked up some stairs into a spectacular office decorated in green and a peachy, green color and painted ceilings. The Christmas tree was still up and decorated so beautifully complete with lights. We met many diplomats, too many names to remember! After some very nice welcome speeches along with showing us the documents (and giving us a copy) of the City of Buffalo Executive Chambers Sister City Agreement between Buffalo and Torremaggiore dated April 20, 2004. Once we said our goodbyes to everyone there, we were off to the school to meet the kids! We walked a short time to the school, which was close to supermarket that we visited a day ago (with the Pepsi). We were completely shocked!!! Upon arrival at Scuolo Elementare Emilio Ricci, we were whisked into the gym which was like our Wehrle Golf Dome. It was separate from the school building and made of similar materials as the dome. As we got closer to the gym, we could hear music and lots of children. Low and behold, the gym was lined up in a rectangle configuration full of children! They were all screaming, holding, and waving flags with the American flag on one side and the Italian flag on the another. I was flabbergasted! There was a 3-piece band playing music, a trumpet, drums, and trombone and they belted out our national anthem, When the Saints Go Marching in and I think might have been their national anthem (I forgot to ask). This welcome was not just a warm welcome, but one that brought tears to my eyes. The reason for this trip for me was always all about the kids. I am here in this wonderful place and away from my own children for a reason, and that is my passion for teaching and my love of children. After our brief introductions to the children, and many hugs and fist bumps, the teachers took them back to their classrooms. As a group, our cohort and professors went around to the classrooms to say “Ciao” and “see you tomorrow”. This was so fulfilling to me to finally get to the school and know that it was time to work hard on planning the activities with my partner, Will to make this classroom experience the very best it could be, for the students and for us as professionals. January 11, 2023 The first full day in the classrooms went better than expected. Thankfully I came up with the idea to do an ice breaker with both classes that we were scheduled to teach in. We introduced ourselves and wrote our names vertically and thought of words that start with the corresponding letter of our names to describe ourselves. Once we had those in place, we translated them to Italian. This was a great icebreaker because the kids proceeded to do the same using their names. Not only were they able to describe some of their personality traits but got to practice their English skills. The teacher also provided them with the English-Italian dictionary to help them out when they were stuck and/or we couldn’t translate for them. Once they all were finished, each of them were able to come up to the front of the class to read their words to us all. It was so awesome! There were many obvious cultural differences in the students here from our students in Western New York, but what was surprising was the similarities. For example, the students were very eager to ask if I played Fortnite or Roblox, two very common games back home. I immediately made a connection with them by doing some of the little dances that I know were in those games, (thanks to my own children). Some differences in the children here compared to home was that they seemed to be able to be kids. They weren’t stifled in any way; they were able to move about the classroom at will, they called out answers freely and just seemed to overall have more freedom. I liked this concept and looked forward to getting to see more similarities and differences in the days to come. Will and I split our time between two different 5th grade classrooms, spending about 2 hours in each. The second class seemed to go a lot faster, possibly because we had the practice from the first time around, or those students were more advanced. In the next blog, I will talk about the rest of this epic first day…until then, Buona Notte! January 8, 2023 Finally! I was able to have a full night sleep, without waking up through the night! We are staying at Cavour Bed and Breakfast and the rooms are spacious and comfortable. Our first breakfast was great although part of me wished we opted for a later time. I was certainly quite comfortable and wanted to stay in bed just a little bit longer. However, I was pleased to see my salami, ham, turkey, and cheese platter along with bread, butter, jam, sweet bread, cereal, scrambled eggs, various juices and of course, espresso, coffee, and tea. After filling our tummies, I got ready to go to my first Mass in Italy. Being a Roman Catholic, it meant a lot to me (and for my late Mother) to attend a Mass here. So, off a few of us went to one of the many churches around the corner. It is named Church of Saint Mary ‘della strada’ and it was built in the 16th century. It was a smaller church than I expected but still very beautiful. The Mass was obviously spoken in Italian, but I was able to recognize the Order of the Mass. What was very surprising to me was that they had a flat screen TV which displayed the lyrics to the music that was played. Notice that I didn’t use the word hymns. This is because there was a big speaker, almost like the ones used in a karaoke bar in Buffalo and a few singers. The music was very upbeat and almost pop-like. The singers were quite good, and harmonized well throughout the Mass. We were astonished to also be witness to a baby’s baptism that happened within the Mass. What a beautiful moment to be able to watch! One thing that was very odd to me was that people arrived sporadically throughout the Mass, some as late as almost 45 minutes in. I guess it is better late than never! After Mass we couldn’t go back to our rooms since they were being cleaned, so we walked around. There were so many people, and animals in the streets. We saw many dogs, some being walked by their owners, and some strays. There was one little chihuahua that did not like us walking by and made sure to let us know! We also saw a friendly cat, that did tolerate our proximity and even allowed us to pet him or her. We visited the bigger grocery store in the area which was right next to the school that we will be working in as of tomorrow! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Pepsi in this store! Since traveling overseas, I have only been drinking Coca-Cola which isn’t terrible, but I am happy that if I want a Pepsi, I can have one. 😊 We walked into a couple different Cafes but they didn’t seem to have any type of lunch menu. So, we continued to walk. We stumbled upon a woman, named Carolina, who spoke English and offered to help us find a place to eat lunch. She called a local restaurant for us to make sure that it was open and proceeded to reserve a table for 5. Not only that but she walked us to the restaurant and helped us order the Sunday lunch. We were told it would cost 30.00 and they would bring us food. Boy, did they ever! We received 4 courses; we didn’t opt for the 5th course because we could not possibly eat another bite but wanted room for dessert or “dolce”. First course was an array of different appetizers which included bruschetta, prosciutto with fresh ricotta and brie (or other soft cheese), margherita pizza, shaved zucchini with mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese on a cheese board. The second course was a hot soup – like pasta fagioli but with garbanzo beans and what was described as “fresh crumbled pasta” (with the use of google translate). The third course was the pasta course which was ravioli stuffed with cheese and topped with a white Bolognese sauce. The fourth course would have been the meat course, which the waiter walked around with a wooden platter showcasing what looked like rib eye steaks that you could pick out for them to cook. Lastly, was dessert and it was incredible. I wish that I wasn’t so full at this time because they were authentic and decadent. They include tiramisu, torte, donuts with a white chocolate sauce, crumbly pastry stick of some sort and a bottle of Limoncello with 5 glasses. I was so full by the end of this meal! All of this, with unlimited Limoncello and wine was a mere 30 euro per person!!!! It was quite the meal and immersive experience. Like I said in earlier blog, I had a feeling that Torremaggiore would be a humbling experience and this lunch most certainly was. Being unable to freely communicate that we wanted a sit-down lunch was exhausting. Although this meal ended up being a fantastic experience, it was an example of miscommunication. We weren’t looking for such an elaborate meal, but perhaps a coffee and a pastry or panini. It was a learning experience and I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings. Buona sera! Time for dinner soon, and I am pretty sure that I won’t be eating too much of…. yikes! January 7, 2023 Today we said arrivederci to the Orlanda Hotel in Rome, for a little while anyways. We woke up at 9:00 for breakfast where I still get warm feelings looking at the meat and cheese selection that goes alongside my yogurt, granola cereal and Italian Nutella filled croissant and of course, gran luongo espresso. I love having the meat and cheese selection because it reminds me of my youth, and family traditions. After breakfast and as with many things so far on this trip, plans changed. Our bus was scheduled to leave at 9:45, but was delayed about 30 minutes, although it seemed longer. What to do with that extra time when you are already checked out of the hotel room? The answer is finding an open gelato place and run to get there and back in time to catch the bus! After looking for this place last night with Dr. Renzoni and Dr. Weber, and it being closed, this morning was my lucky day. It was open and is by far the very best gelato I have had so far. When people in WNY say that gelato is just like ice cream, it most certainly is not. GROM is now my passion (Dr. Renzoni was right) and I look forward to trying at least one more flavor when we return from Torremaggiore. Fast forward to the bus, it was a comfortable bus with plenty of leg room. We started our journey to Torremaggiore along the highway, alongside rolling hillsides, with colonies of houses that looked like they were strategically placed just for aesthetic purposes or to create the perfect art canvas. It was so captivating that I had a hard time trying to convince myself to take advantage of the almost 3-hour drive to our destination and get some extra shut eye. We had a little 30-minute pit stop that turned into about an hour and a half at a truck stop. This truck stop was not like any truck stop that I have ever been at in the United States. This one had everything from wines to deli counter with sandwiches, and pizza to toys and a lollipop section. It had something for everyone! After grabbing some extra snacks and a Coke Zero, I walked back to the bus, where a police officer was speaking to the driver. Did we get pulled over? Was something wrong with the bus? Was the driver being questioned about something he may have witnessed? These and many other questions rang through my head. Turns out the Italian police require extensive documentation from commercial drivers, which I believe the driver eventually provided to the officer in some way because we were back on the road once again. We arrived in Torremaggiore and right away, I knew that I was in love with this beautiful and quaint town. The streets are cobblestone, but not like in Rome. Rome streets reminded me a lot of our Cobblestone District downtown near the arena with the smaller sizes and a rough texture but the streets here are just so stunning. They are smoother, almost marble like cobblestone pathways that take you through one of the most spectacular views that I have experienced not only here in Italy, but in my life. The buildings are so rustic with architecture that is nothing like I have ever seen, except for in the movies. Many of them have wrought iron balcony railings decorated with plants or flowers. Walking through the streets of Torremaggiore makes you want to hold the hand of someone you love and truly appreciate the beauty of the world. I feel that I am about to have a humbling and immersive experience. Until tomorrow, buona notte. January 6, 2023
Today was our last day in Rome until later in our adventure. I was extremely disappointed that we were not able to do our Vatican tour yesterday as planned because of the Pope Benedict’s funeral, but today’s tour did not disappoint! The Colosseum guided tour that we did was not only fascinating but extremely educational. We learned first and foremost that what we see in the movies, such as Russell Crowe’s depiction in Gladiator, is pure fiction. In fact, before this tour, I was under the impression that those fights ended in grizzly and grueling death which we were told is false. In fact, 90 percent of the fights did not end in a fight to the death, but instead, the deaths were a result of infection from the wounds that we inflicted upon them. Another myth is that humans were put in the ring against animals. However, they did use animals to entertain the spectators, but they fought other animals. To ensure a good show, they would keep the animals caged up, in the dark, without food or water for several days, to ensure they were ravenous enough to attack anything that moved. But as our tour guide named Guido said a number of times throughout our tour, “Romans do things 100 percent, and do not disappoint”. We stumbled upon a gem of a restaurant near our hotel for lunch, which was an expected delight. So much that we got the whole cohort together to go there for dinner as well. I am excited for what’s to come! It is what I came for, the reason for this adventure….Torremaggiore and the children! I cannot wait to see the Italian culture through the eyes of children. We leave in the morning, and although we do not get into the schools until after the weekend, I am going to continue to try to ease my jet lag, and be ready for them. They deserve my best, so until tomorrow….buono notte! January 5, 2023
Well, this trip that we all have been preparing for all these months is underway! We arrived yesterday in Rome after a very long travel day which was longer than we expected. We had a long layover in Atlanta that was further delayed due to weather conditions and other random issues (no blankets, pillows or catered food). For my experience, the second flight to Rome was 100 percent better than the flight from Buffalo to Atlanta. Let’s just say that the man that sat next to me, did not feel well and obviously had motion sickness issues. A lot. I could not get off that plane fast enough. Fast forward to Rome, Italy. Once out of the airport and on our way to the hotel, it hit me. I was indeed in Europe and was captivated by all things, normal and routine things that we as Americans might not notice as we peruse through our days. I noticed the difference in the trees, the landscaping, the cars, and especially the driving practices of the Italians. They zoom around in their Alpha Romeos, in and out of traffic and this was just the beginning! Once arriving at our hotel, and being on foot does these driving practices stand out. There is no real pedestrian crosswalks. We learned quickly that in order to cross the street and stay alive, you must make eye contact with the oncoming driver in enough time to have them slow down enough for you to make it to the other side. It was quite daunting at the beginning but now I feel like a superhero when crossing. I look, lock eyes and walk across like I own the place! Jet lag is still haunting me, but I was able to spend all today exploring. We took a bus tour that we could hop on and off and saw so many amazing things. My favorite was the Basilica Santa Maria in Arocoeli. I was able to light a candle and say a prayer that I dedicated to my late mother. I know that she is looking in on me and is very proud that I have conquered my fears and took on this adventure that is way out of my comfort zone. The food has been amazing, and the gelato is simply divine. I cannot even describe how decadent and scrumptious it is here! I think that I have had a version of gelato once or twice back home, but it does not compare to what I have had here. I look forward to trying more new things on the menu as my journey continues. If I don’t follow the advice that I give to my children, how will I know that I don’t like it if I haven’t tried it??? Food for thought, pardon the pun. Tomorrow we tour the Colosseum and I cannot wait to tell you all about it. Until then, I must attempt to settle in and get some sleep even though my body still believes that it is 6:00 when it is 12:00 am here in Rome…hopefully tomorrow will be better for this jet lag. Good night, or should I say, buona notte. |
AuthorI am a graduate student working towards a M.S.Ed in Childhood Education plus Early Childhood certification. I received an undergraduate degree in Health Studies at Brock University in Ontario, Canada and currently serve as graduate assistant for Elementary Education, Literacy & Educational Leadership (EELEL) and Professional Development Schools (PDS). I love working with children and helping them achieve their full potential and have a love of learning that is infectious, which I hope to instill in my future students! I am planning to continue my academic career by working towards an EdD or PhD. When not working hard on my studies or GA position, I spend every moment with my father, husband, and three children, (ages 12, 9, 8) and many pets! ArchivesCategories |