Lorna at Vicenza

Chloe went off happily on Monday morning and came home this evening.
She had a fab time and really enjoyed it ......... a little less the amount of walking and hiking they did.

They had a big bonfire one night, made bread, went looking for funghi, played games, had decent food, did a night time excursion to the cross at the top of Monte Summano.

My friend went half way up the mountain to pick Chloe and her daughter up this afternoon. Two 'pullman' arrived first with all the kids' luggage. The kids came down about 15 minutes later after walking it.

First time in years that Chloe has nodded off on the sofa before dinner. They must have walked the legs off them.

She didn't use the bathrobe as they weren't allowed to use the showers - just wash in the big sinks. I presume that if some kid had fallen or rolled in the mud, a shower would have been allowed. The weather has been great anyway so no mud and I guess they didn't want over 50 kids taking it in turns to flood the showers and then of course the girls would all have to have their hair dried properly with a hairdryer etc. No going out with wet hair!

Chloe is relaxing in a big bubble bath now. I wouldn't have cared if she'd lived like a caveman for a fortnight as long as she enjoyed it, but I've already heard that one mummy was upset there were no bidets there

Patty

Oh that did make me laugh Lorna Did she send the bidet police out to check

Lorna at Vicenza

Is there anything that these teachers don't feel compelled to comment on?

Fruit day at school yesterday so I gave Alex a banana. His school zaino has a small front pocket where I always shove his merenda and nothing else.

Not good enough apparently - maestra Barbara told Alex that his fruit must be wrapped up in Scottex or in a bag. Why? Who the sodding hell eats a banana skin?

Stellina

Well my weirdo suocera actually washes bananas before peeling and eating them and when she makes us a cake or something it is wrapped up in a layer of cling film, then a layer of foil, then in a freezer bag and finally in a carrier bag tied up with about 5 elastic bands. Takes so much effort to get in to the blooming thing!

Lorna at Vicenza

I'd just rip through all those layers with a Stanley knife.

Anyway - Barbara, Italian teacher is pregnant. Cristina - Maths teacher is also pregnant.

Cristina is the one that never ever smiles at anybody - kids or parents.
Barbara always had a loud voice but used to be quite fair. According to many kids she's lost the plot this year. Must be tired or full of hormones. Threatens the kids every day with notes in the registro. Pleanty of kids will be glad to see the back of them when they go on maternity leave.
Fingers crossed the supply teachers will be half decent.

duffer

Is it the same father?

Lorna at Vicenza

Probably not.

It sounds awful but I hope Cristina gets the full nasty force of awful teachers when her kid starts school. Karma and all that.

gelato

That does sound difficult.

Can anyone explain how it works here with supply teachers when a teacher is on mat leave? A started scuola materna and there was a head teacher and an assistant. I was told that the assistant was not permanent because she was replacing a teacher on mat leave. But after 2-3 weeks the assistant teacher disappeared only to be by another non-permanent teacher (ie not the one who was on mat leave) who is apparently there "until the end of the year." Other parents have told me this is normal - do have a new teacher every few weeks while someone is on maternity leave. But why? I just don't get it. The kids got quite attached to the first teacher.

Lorna at Vicenza

I have a friend who is a supply teacher and from her, I gather it works like this:

You could be sitting at home twiddling your thumbs when a school/ school board or whatever rings up and offers you a position.

If it's to cover maternity leave or a long term illness, then in theory, if you accept the position you are supposed to stick it out until the end.

But, if another school rings up that is let's say - closer to your home, or with more hours teaching (more money) or better hours like mornings only - then some supply teachers will and do jack in the first place to accept the second place.

Lorna at Vicenza

Oh - and - from what I understand, a supply teacher can also refuse a job which explains why kids sometimes are left without a teacher for 2 or 3 days and get split up into other classrooms .... until the school does find a supply teacher.

K in Modena

I don't understand the system for teachers here at all. I have a friend who took the national exam, heard nothing for six years then was called out of the blue to sign a permanent contract. She has never studied to be a teacher, although her first year was supposed to be a kind of apprenticeship year I think. My sister-in-law attended formal lessons, got qualified, and now never knows where her next job is coming from.

Lorna at Vicenza

I know - it's a funny system and nobody understands it apart from the people in it.

I have a friend who had a big party in September to celebrate finally getting a "ruolo" fixed school teaching position after years of teaching and years of hanging around every summer to see which school she'd end up in.

Lorna at Vicenza

Alex looked in his school diary this aft with me. It's the first year he's had a proper school diary. The teachers insisted on it. I don't think anyone has even taught the kids how the school date diary works. Alex has just been writing his homework on the next available page regardless if that homework is for the 8th or the 10th or the 11th of this month.

Anyway - I've been trying to help him work this bloody diary. Each and every afternoon we go through it - do the homework and then cross off the done work with a fat, red pen. Done and dusted.

Until today - the diary says "for October 7th, read and do exercises on page 12 in orange book."

Alex forgot to bring the orange book home. Couldn't find it in his zaino - and promptly burst into tears, horrific tears. I try to calm him down and say we'll ask the kid next door. She hasn't got hers at home because although she's in the same year, she has different days' work and hasn't brought home the orange book today.

Poor Alex gets desperate. I do a thorough search on Internet for 30 minutes and all I can come up with is 10 different sites selling the school book but not one of them has the contents or the exercises.

Alex has a near mental breakdown. Maestra Barbara will give him a "nota" black mark against his name in the register and maestra Barbara said that "anybody not doing homework will forget about break time for a week."

I try and pacify Alex by saying that I will give him a giustificazione and a note from mummy in his proper school/home book.

I write, "Gentile Maestra Barbara,
unfortunately Alex forgot to bring home his orange book. Our neighbour - Ikram, in class 3B does not have her book at home. I have looked and searched on Internet but I could only find books for sale and not the contents, nor the exercises. Apologies - Alex will do this homework tomorrow."


The reason I wrote so much was,
1: Yes we have checked with the neighbours.
2: I've been on internet and Italy is miles behind other places so I'm letting you know this and just STFU.


Poor Alex has gone to bed terrified he'll get a black mark against his name. I'll be bloody mad if he does after my so called "giustificazione".

When my dad was here - and has seen what my 8 yr old nephew goes to school with in England - he was horrified.


Horrified that kids are only allowed certain pee times and drink times.
Horrified at the books they have and have to carry each day.
Horrified at the teachers' yearly requests for music books and drawing books and erasable pens and paints and brushes and black paper etc etc.
Horrified that a young kid with a tiny bladder would be told off for asking to use the loo.
Horrified that they can be kept inside a classroom at break time for punishment.
Horrified at the homework they get.
Horrified at the lack of fun and learning through fun that they get.
Horrified at the lack of equipment to make learning more visulal - things like a science lab with microscopes.
Horrified at the lack of sports.

I never was a big fan - but now that I've seen it all fresh again ........... it bloody stinks. The next teacher that tells me that Alex is not good enough for her sit still - shut up and don't move programme is going to get a lesson in text speak from me because the first thing I'll teach her will be STFU.


No child of 8 or any age should be so bloody scared of a teacher!

Patty

dont know quite what to say Lorna except that you are absolutely right.
My 3 kids are kind of divided and the 1st did all her schooling in the UK, the 2nd until he was 12 and the third all here. I can see the difference between them. Daughter loved school, 2nd child didnt enjoy school when we moved here and the 3rd (youngest) moans alot that he doesnt like school. I feel bad that I took them away from what in hindsight seems a much better system than here.

On another note - I was explaining to a student today that we have school inspectors in England and they were amazed. Here a teacher can be crap and stay crap until the day they retire - doesnt make any difference. Sad isnt it.

Lorna at Vicenza

That is the really sad thing - that even if 5 to 10 parents complain to the head - the bloody teacher still stays there beacuse there is nobody to say who is doing a totally shite job..... except parents who are never to be believed.

Apart from being horrified - my dad is also amazed that at just age 8 Alex is already splitting sentences into verbs, adjectives, nouns, and articles. His other grandson is still learning that reading and writing is fun and happy.

I'm amazed myself that Chloe in 5th primary did all about photosynthesis which I did in biology at grammar school. The sad thing is that we, had a lot of science lab experiments to back up what we were learning. I do strongly believe that visual aids and experiments help to learn and memorise and not just the Italian learning from books and teachers and blackboards.

The only little, tiny thing that comforts me this year is that I have heard many, many more mums complaining about the teachers' requests and demands. People have less money than ever but the school demands have stayed the same - or even got higher. Our council/comune school lunches have jumped from 2.80 (which was a good price) to 3.50. A big jump for those paying twice a week. I hope I can gather the pissed off mums next year and stage some kind of "NO - **** OFF:"