Lorna at Vicenza

That's bad.
I have often picked up Chloe's bag and said "my God Chloe. Your bag is really heavy - try and leave some books under your desk."

Last year in a school meeting one Italian mum complained about the weight of the bag and then 10 others joined in.
One teacher said "the kids are supposed to learn (now that they are in 4th year) to organise their bags each evening and only bring to school the books they need for that day and leave the others behind. They have a timetable. They should be able to use it."

I wanted to applaud the brave mum who said, "my son knows what his timetable is and so do I, but Goddamn it, every week something happens at school and a supply teacher comes in, or a teacher takes on an extra class, or the kids get separated and split up into other classrooms or the religion teacher fills in for the Italian one and when one teacher says 'get out your Italian grammar book' the kids that don't have it with them get into trouble !!!!! My son would rather carry 15 books on his back and have all of them rather than get into trouble through no fault of his own."

Another mum then said that the timetable was organised very badly because the lessons that have the biggest and heaviest books all happened on a Tuesday and even kids who did leave books at home still had a hefty weight on their backs each Tuesday.

Like many times - the teachers had no satisfactory answers. The whole nation has no satisfactory answer. Each September there are debates on Tv about books and bags and weights and not one jot has changed in donkey's years.

I have a very simple solution like all of you ........... get some bloody school lockers !!!!

Lorna at Vicenza

Patty - if it's anything like 'my' school, it only takes one brave or very pissed off mum to complain and then all the others that were afraid of being the first "brutta figura" will stand up with you and complain as well.

You go girl !!!!

indiebird

Good luck Patty. I must admit that I had a whinge (via note in diary) last year about H's bag. They came down on me like a ton of bricks. My argument was that it was heavy for me and it discriminated against parents like me who wanted to walk their child home because he never got to play outside and he needed the exercise. They said that he was very disorganised and he refused to organise his things properly and therefore it was my fault because I had no brought him up properly to be organised..... you get the gist??!!

Lorna at Vicenza

Which is bad in itself and brings us back to the brave mum in my post who actually dared to defend her son and herself for being organised and the bloody school that wasn't.

Isn't it just awful when they blame you?

Minor rant here now but Alex got a note on Monday saying "please have Quaderno A, B, C and an Architetto drawing pad for Friday October 8th.

Yesterday he stressed me because the teachers stressed him. Today he stressed me beacuse the teachers stressed him. Today I put a note under the teacher's list saying "Alex will have all things ready for FRIDAY as stated in the note."

What I wanted to say was "give us a f***** break. You said Friday so stop the f******* stress !

TestaRossa

The article I linked is from 1999!!!!

Lorna at Vicenza

It was a great article. Big bloody shame on Italy that it is still totally relevant today in 2010.

Patty

Thanks for all your support - I was worried that I was becoming an italian mum But I'm sure that if I bring it up I'll have support from the other mums.
I actually said to a new student today about lockers - its such a simple concept I cannot for the life of me understand why they dont use them. At my kids school in the UK they put a £5 deposit for the key and if you lost the key you lost your deposit...simples no ???

indiebird

I think it's very simple and don't inderstand why they cannot do it. This year at the media everything is at home and H just takes in the books he needs for his lessons but at one point he had about 3-4 big ring binders in his bag cos he reckoned that each lesson 'needed' them. I brought one more binder, a packet of 20 separators and made him make a 'daily binder' which he carries and then after about two weeks he can transfer all the work out of and into his binders at home. I've given up on complaining. There are just so many things here and I'm tired of sticking out even more. Does that sound really bad. Am I just turning into another jaded mother?!

indiebird

oh God! OH just phoned me to tell me that H's Italian teacher phoned him today and want me to make an appointment for a meeting to discuss H's behaviour at school. What the bloody hell is the secret to get your child to behave? Someone please tell me. I'm an intelligent woman and yet I've got no clue.

Patty

Oh Indie - I dont know what to say. But dont despair - I have been through a similar thing because my first child was the perfect pupil and the teachers loved her - then along came son no.1 and as soon as he started school the problems started. We spent years being called up to the school because of his behaviour. He wasnt bad 'nasty' but he just didnt conform to their idea of what was required in class. They said he was a lovely kid (he still is ) but he just sees life in a different way - at one point maybe they might have mentioned A.D.D. but in those days it was a very new opinion and looking back I'm sure he was a little hyper and found it very hard to be organised and to concentrate. It was very interesting though that some teachers were able to manage him and bring out the best in him and others had real problems with him. (of course at that time he had one class teacher per year at junior school). Anyway now he's almost 20 - he's a bit immature and I tend to think of him a bit as a male version of Amelie But I wouldnt swap him or anything about him for the world !

37100

Just don't know what to say Indie. If it's any consolation, that 6footer that lives your way got thrown out of class the first week with the teacher accusing us of being terrible parents. He never did change and more than once, came home with a black eye.

indiebird

Awww thanks you two! He just doesn't fit and, as you say, some teachers can bring out the best in him and others just can't handle him. He had his break with the Art teacher on Monday as the boy that was bociato'd wouldn't leave him alone. He just seems to enjoy being in the middle of everything and this boy is obviously the same. He loved being with the teachers though and had his lunch with the Technica teacher who he really likes and she finally moved him from next to this boy to the other side of the room with a girl who he seems to really get on well with. He's not violent I don't think although another mum told my 'friend' who I'm beginning to think is not really my friend said that he punched her daughter. He said he didn't (and nothing in the diary about it!) and when I finally tackled the mum she said 'oh I think they sorted it out amongst themselves.' What H said was he asked this girl why she told her mum that and she said she didn't, so I've got no idea what to think. Tbh, we don't really have problems with him at home. Obviously he's a bit moody at the moment but nothing that we can't handle.

indiebird

there's hope then as he's turned out sooooo well!

37100

Just took 25yrs! He's so like me, he couldn't have turned out any other way.

indiebird

yes that's what's worrying me the most about H!! We're a bit too alike... I've just got slightly more finely honed social skills...