Schools, teachers, kids and parents. Education in general.
 

Had to go and talk to the teacher again after school today *sighs* this was after the bidello let me walk through the gate and up to the teacher who had wanted to speak to me!! :curse: It's funny how the Italian parents are allowed to crowd around and inside of the gate and go up to teachers after school without invitation but I am not. Do you think it's cos I'm English and superior?? :sneaky::sneaky:

Re: HAPPY HOUR
 

Ah, but if you drag daddy along the teachers (female) while give him that 'poor you, wife can't cope with such a small thing as school and needs you to lean on' look. Then she'll smile sweetly at him and reassure him things are fine. Then next time she sees you, she'll give you even more grief.

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Aww thanks K. I think it depends on where you live tbh and for how long in some cases. It don't help that I am a sensitive soul at the moment either really!! We tried to make sure that the school here could manage by going to the Presida and asking whether she felt the schools here could manage our children as when we arrived they could speak no italian, but we wanted to live as close as possible to dh's workplace so we could spend as much time together as a family and we wanted our children to learn the language. This may have been our mistake as La Presida was extremely welcoming (cuddling the children and took us there and then for a visit round the primary school which raised a lot of eyebrows from the staff there). I get the feeling that what she says is one thing and the teachers must obey her but they do not agree with her and ds's teachers have always felt that we are mad to take them out of UK school and bring them here for a fixed term (it was supposed to be 2 years but dh has just signed a contract for another 2 years). We have tried to explain to them that we believe there is more to education than the subjects they learn but they just look at each other with incredulity when we say this.

We did go to the International School (American) in the South of Torino, but it would have been a long travel for either the kids to school or for dh to work each day and they only got an hours worth of italian lessons a week which seemed a bit crazy to us when you are living somewhere where not much English is spoken outside of school. Also, a lot of the people who send their kids there have serious money and we knew we could never compete at all with any of that and we don't want to either and so the kids went to the local school.

I don't want to put anyone off. I'm only talking from personal experience really. In some ways I do wish we'd settled in the city a bit more or in the next town which is slightly bigger and where the schools do have more experience of dealing with kids who are not italian and may not speak italian as their first language. This might have been better in reality...

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yes this is very true by the way. They are always extremely respectful if my hubby is there with me and shake hands and everything then. He always comes straight from work in a shirt and tie. They always say things to me like 'you don't work do you.' as if this would explain something about why my son seemingly won't behave... although I still find it hard to believe that he is the worst behaved in the whole class when you see what the kids are like out of school... I think they just like me as their captive audience. The italian parents probably told them where to stick it long ago...

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I'm still not sure if some of Chloe's teachers are a bit wary of me - but if they are that's fine. I do know that one bit of Britishness that they like and appreciate is all the please and thank yous that have rubbed off on my kids.

Chloe took a book into school last year to show her teacher. It was a beautiful hardback called "365 creative things to do for every day of the year" or something like that.

The teacher knocked it off her big desk and damaged the spine. She waited for me at the school gates to apologise in person and told me that she'd keep the damaged one and order a brand new for Chloe from the book shop. I didn't think it was necessary as the damage was minimal but I thought it was nice of her to insist.

The new preside and collaborators are making some changes as well. The school menu has got about 8 new dishes on it this year and instead of going from month to month it now goes for two months before starting over back at the beginning again.

He is also introducing for the very first time ever an after school club 3 days a week. Kids can stay in school until 2.30pm - 4pm or even 6pm. Price will depend on how many people sign up for it and for how many shifts.

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I know you're a bit out in the sticks Lorna, but our locally elementary school (and I'm boasting here) has pre AND dopo scuola. It also so has a sort of art's school next door where the kids can do painting, music theatre and a limited number of sports.

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Some of my friends in the bigger town have always had the option of doposcuola but the old preside here never wanted to do anything - he was a real grumpy old git and a miserable sod.

The new one is younger and more modern. So far he has implemented the option of the settimana corta (no Saturday morning school), a better and larger school menu, banned homework on Saturdays and now the "Happy scuola" programme. That's what it is going to be called.

I have to get to the shop now. Chloe asked me to write a note in her book this morning saying -

"sorry teacher - I forgot to go and buy even more copertine yesterday so Chloe's books are not covered in plastic yet. I'll get some today - promise."

So I'd better go and buy some. And the bloody text books are larger this year than ever before and don't fit into the ready made copertine. :frown:

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We do have pre and dopo scuola here so some kids are in that place from 7.30-6pm 5 days a week. Seems a bit cruel to me but you gotta do what you need to sometimes dontcha? The school is quite modern and the Presida does seem to want to implement a lot of new initiatives but the teachers seem a bit set in their ways and I don't think they always fully support the initiatives. Also some of the parents seem to me to be downright obstructive too so that must make life difficult. but all schools are certainly not equal. There are a couple of frazioni (is that right??!!) that come under this place and times there are only short days most days and saturday mornings, and there is a sizeable number of parents that I know who hate the big school here and drive their kids (or stick them on the bus) to the other schools, seems slightly weird to me as my son still gets a load of homework so I wonder if they do actually learn more stuff in a year if they go tempo pieno. I was always really involved in the school in the UK as a Governor and as an offerer of my time to go and listen to the readers and generally help out with whatever I had the time to, but that really ain't the done thing here.

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Parents can certainly be an obstruction.

I will never forget when I was fighting for the settimana corta when Chloe was due to start school....

one woman actually stood up and in front of everybody said

"what's all the fuss you're making? Personally I can't wait for mine to be out of my balls on a Saturday morning." She really did say "fuori dei coglioni".

Mind you, I wasn't the only one who thought that was a terrible thing to say.

Another person, a father this time, stood up and said

"I bet you're one of those ball breaking career woman aren't you. The school is not there for you to use as a babysitter in the afternoons you know."

That really pissed me off and I answered him back but I knew then that it was impossible to get round certain mentalities.

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Right - I'm the one today that's going to be writing a serious note - to Alex's teachers today.

Just picked the little mite up and he is so annoyed. Today for the first time the teacher said that they'd all go to the gym. Alex already had his brand new trainers in a little pump bag at school that they all need for PE day but the teacher made him and another boy stand at the wall the whole time because they weren't wearing a poper proper tracksuit.

Bloody hell. He was wearing light and comfy cotton trousers and a t.shirt.

In the 3 years that Chloe has been at school, nobody ever said she needed a proper tracksuit - just comfy, light and easy to move in clothes. Chloe has done PE in everything from jogging bottoms and t-shirts to leggings to 3/4 length trousers.

Alex has got one proper tracksuit that nonna bought - and the trousers fall off him constantly as he is skinny and they don't have a drawstring or adjustable elastic on buttons.
I am not going out and spending 30 or more Euro on a tracksuit for him here !

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Oh dear Lorna! I must admit that I send my son to school in a pair of trackie bottoms and a t-shirt and when I went to watch the kids play mini-basket last year there was an array of different dress. He has had to sit out due to bad behaviour, although imho what he needs is more exercise not less then perhaps he might behave more!! Must admit that I still find it strange that they don't have a p.e. kit as such. In the UK you had to send a bag with plimsolls a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to get changed into. Here they can spend all day in the same sweaty clothes if they do p.e. first thing which the grown-ups would never do would they? Hope dd doesn't have to sit out... although thinking about it, we've had no official confirmation of when p.e. days are yet... hmmmm

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Oh it just never stops does it :frown: How mean and petty to single him out like that - they need a serious course here in Italy called 'How to drag your teachers into the 21st century' :p But as I think 37100 said recently - no matter what, over here the teachers are always right ! Bloody annoying though.

Re: HAPPY HOUR
 

well the text books are covered now and a long note written to Alex's teacher.

OH was bloody fuming. I aked Alex to show me what the teacher made him do in the gym. He stood with his back to a wall and his arms folded and then he said "she let me sit on the floor after a bit."

I wanted to cry for him.

I told his teacher that in the 3 years his sister has been at school, a tracksuit was never a must - just comfy and light clothes.
I told his teacher that he doesn't own a proper proper tracksuit but lots of jogging style trousers (which it is still much too warm for) and lots of t-shirts and some zip up tops (too warm for them too).

I told her that he will be wearing these until Christmas and then I will look for a tracksuit for him in England where kids' clothes are much much cheaper.

OH said I should have added that we will of course accept a donation from the teacher or the school or a voucher for the sports shop .... but that was too cheeky even for me !!!!!

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Naughty you Lorna not having the books covered before now!! :p I hate those plastic covers. They are no good for clumsy mothers like me who are not very dexterous. the tape at the sides gets stuck on everything but the place it is supposed to and more than once I've had to wrench it off as you cannot close the book once I've had a go!! :rofl::rofl: and then there is my lopsided cutting especially after you've covered 6books already in one evening and cannot be arsed to cut neatly!!

We had no nasty notes today and I feel really happy. Sad innit!!?? :o:o Dd did treat me to a fantastic rendition of if you're happy and you know it' in Italian outside the school too. lovely!! :thumbsup:

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p.s Lorna, keep us posted of what the reaction to your note is. I would cry for my kids if they were made to do that. How are you supposed to integrate if the teachers single you out like that!!??