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"I felt so overwhelmed by the kindness of my peers and professors that I couldn't help but cry"1/14/2018 Four days have passed since I last wrote, and so much has happened that I don’t even know where to start. It’s been a chaotic and exciting few days, and now that I have a minute to sit down and reflect on them, I feel several emotions including overwhelming joy, pride, frustration, homesickness, excitement, comfort and anxiety. It’s hard to make sense of these feelings, so I’ll do my best to explain.
On the 11th we didn’t go to the school to attend classes. Instead we took a trip down to the town castle (yes, a literal castle), which is centrally located, and only a two-minute walk from our B&B. 90 fifth grade students met us their with their teachers, and the plan was for the Music Education Majors to plan a lesson for the students in the castle. Those of us who are not music majors attended the lesson to observe how the students responded to the lesson. I found myself being more moved by the members of our group teaching the lesson than the children in the end. Although the students appeared to enjoy the lesson (even swarming us after for autographs), I had never seen any of my music peers teach before, and I was so impressed by their ease in front of so many children who didn’t have the capacity to communicate with them. Their lesson was taught by using physical cues and gestures, and they used modeling often to show the students what to do. Having learned in the schools that music is not an integral part of he education system here, it was almost bittersweet watching them sing with the students because it’s clear to me that music is such an easy way to break down social barriers and allow children and adults to express their creativity. The following day was January 12th, which was actually my 21st birthday. I immediately woke up feeling very melancholy. As happy as I am to be in such an amazing place, I have never been away from my family on my birthday before, and I felt sad that such a momentous day in my life would pass without being surrounded by those I love. In the morning we returned to the elementary school. My partner and I specifically wanted to observe for the day, so Dr. Ceprano set us up to observe a math lesson. The students were working on counting money. The lesson was fascinating to watch because it was all collaborative. The teacher began by reviewing what each denomination of the coins and bills were, but as the lesson progressed, many students began shouting out questions, answers, thoughts and ideas about the topic, and not once did she ever silence them. She answered their questions, and validated their comments, and she allowed her students to talk to each other about what was going on. At one point she split them up into groups and they were able to work together even further by using a given set of coins and trying to add them up to certain denominations such as two or five euros. In every classroom I have ever been a part of or observed back at home, the teacher does their best to control the students as tightly as possible. Talking out of turn is not allowed, and strict hand raising is always enforced. Seeing this kind of practice here both impressed me, but also annoyed me. I think that their ability to connect with each other and the teacher about their lessons is such a positive thing for their cognitive and academic development because it allows them to share ideas freely, but also I think that allowing students to shout out openly whenever they want doesn’t teach them any kind of self control which is a necessary attribute for real life scenarios. Even thinking about it now, I can’t say whether or not I preferred this kind of teaching or not, however I was happy to have gotten the chance to observe it. After the teacher’s math lesson, one of our students designed an activity for the class. The only reason I think this is worth mentioning is because during this time I was able to work closely with a troublesome student, and this touched me greatly, and I have been thinking about it for days. My peers and I immediately identified a little boy front in center of the room as the troublemaker almost as soon as the math lesson began. He talked a lot and was standing up out of his seat, often looking around the room and ignoring the teacher. When we looked around and observed him, every time the teacher would give a direction he would be so distracted that it would take him twice as long to complete the task. During my peers lesson, one of her directions was to have students write down their favorite gift from Christmas. I was walking around looking at the students draw and copy the English words from the board and noticed that he was seriously slacking behind them, and not following directions well. I walked over and stood above him and pointed to his paper. He looked up and me and giggled and started rushing to catch up. I ended up kneeling down in front of his desk and helping him stay on task. I drew him a few rough sketches of pictures, and he filled them in with colors. With each marker he pulled out, I said the English word for the color and he repeated it happily. When I had his one on one attention he was engaged, excited and fully willing to cooperate with directions. I’ve been thinking of him for days now, and although I am not an experienced physician, I believe he had some sort of hyperactive disorder, and based on his excitement from my one on one instruction, I wonder if he gets the kind of attention he needs at home. I feel sad and discouraged when I think of him because based on the way I saw the teacher regard him, it was clear that she saw him as troublesome and disruptive, whereas I saw him as kind and sweet, and in need of more help than a typical student. Just like in America, I think there are many students here who are not getting the kind of help they need in school, whether it is academic help or just extra support. Some children are disregarded early in life as being too difficult, and their teachers may give up on them, and to me that is such a shame because every child deserves to be given every opportunity to live up to their potential. After leaving the school a few of us went to the local café for a cappuccino and a pastry, which is a favorite activity of mine back at home so I was feeling a little better than I had originally when I woke up. Then we went back to the B&B for lunch. It was described as being “fish” but it should have been called a seafood lunch, because we ended up being served mussels, a pasta with whole shrimp in it (Yes, there were heads and eyeballs and shells), and octopus. My Nana would be so proud of me because every year on Christmas Eve she has tried to get me to eat octopus, and I always have been vehemently opposed, but I promised myself I would try everything I was served on this trip, and that’s exactly what I did. To my surprise, it tasted a little bit like ham. I wouldn’t eat it again, but I’m glad I tried it. After our final course, our host Mr. Grassi came over to me and told me to sit at the head of the table because he wanted to take a picture with me (???????). We took a picture together and he went back to the kitchen and moments later returned with a birthday cake. Everyone started singing and I was immediately in tears. I had been missing home so much all day, and in that moment I felt so overwhelmed by the kindness of my peers and professors that I couldn’t help but cry. It was one of the nicest things that has ever happened to me. The only moment that could possibly top that one happened later in the night. We were told we were going to a wine cellar to taste wine and hear music. That was pretty much the bulk of the information we had, so we showed up to the buses not really knowing what to expect. We pulled up to this unassuming building in the adjoining town of San Severo and were ushered in, and then down the stairs by a tour guide. She walked us through the cellar and told us the history of the place, and how they make their wine. Then she told us the tour was over and it was time to eat. She brought us up a couple of steps and into this huge room within the cellar. It had a huge arched ceiling, many tables all set for dinner, and a stage with instruments front and center. There was easily 70 people already there, drinking wine and hanging out. We didn’t know this until later but it wasn’t just an event thrown by the wine distillers, it was an event thrown by the teachers from the Elementary School and the High School teachers with the express purpose to meet and mingle with us. They served us a five-course meal with all the wine we could drink, and after the band played music. We were forced to dance by the teachers, but it ended up being so much fun. At the end of the night, one of the teachers who had helped organized the event approached me and told me to come up front of the stage. I followed her and as we started walking, people started clapping. I stopped dead in my tracks. I knew I was about to be so embarrassed in front of all these people. Suddenly the ‘Happy Birthday’ song started playing from the stage, and I was brought to the front of the room. A server in a white apron came through the crowd carrying a Panetonè, which is a big Italian dessert bread. In the middle was a lit candlestick. This in itself meant so much to me because it has always been a running joke in my family that every year Nana forgets to buy actual birthday candles, and she ends up putting a big candlestick in our cakes. I made a wish and blew out the candle, thanking the girl. I thought that was the end of it, but I could not have been more wrong. After I blew out the candle I was whisked on stage and was exuberantly sang to by the band. I was so embarrassed, but so grateful. I couldn’t believe that this room of people I didn’t know were singing to me, and celebrating me. It was truly the best thing I have ever experienced. After, I was gifted a bottle of wine that was made in the cellar, which I hope to smuggle home as a memory of the best birthday of my life. Being in Italy has already been such an emotional journey. Every single day I miss my home, I miss my family, and most importantly, I miss my cats! Almost everyday there is a moment where I feel so overwhelmed by homesickness that I could cry. But that moment passes, and in the next moment I remember how incredible this experience has been, and how I have already made so many memories that I know I will carry with me for a lifetime. And then suddenly I’m wishing I could stay here forever, and never have to return home. It’s a strange feeling, but I wouldn’t give up this experience for anything.
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AuthorI am a third year Elementary Education student at Buffalo State College and a member of the Muriel A. Howard Honors program and Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society. My hobbies include reading, watching movies, hanging out with friends and family, and being a full time cat lady. I have always been passionate about working with children and hope that this program will give me insight as to how children in other countries are nurtured and develop. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to connect with fellow Education students and form lasting connections within my program ArchivesCategories |