Day 4: School Notes

It is forty-eight degrees out right now and all the snow is melting away! Yay.

So, some things I have noticed about the schools I'm working in (and yes, I'm only observing two schools, so these things may not be true everywhere in Italy):

-As I've mentioned teachers move from classroom to classroom. This means that the students simply take their coats and bags into the classroom with them. There are no lockers.

-Teachers don't have mail boxes. If there is some sort of papers they need to see, the care-takers/secretaries give the papers to them. If it is a general announcement, there will only be one paper on which the teachers initial to show they have seen it.

-Teachers have drawers/lockers. Since they can't take all of their books to every single class, they leave their books and papers in their drawers.

-Students raise their index finger to answer questions.

-Students have a break during the day (eleven, here) for snacks. On cold days the students gather around the radiators. (Obviously. If it's cold outside and the building is old, it will be chilly inside. Best place to be would be the radiator.)

-The smallest class I've seen had nine students. The biggest, twenty-three.

-Students with special needs are usually in the classroom. They get taken out for a few hours during the week to work in small groups (1-2 students) with a teacher.

-When a teacher is absent, a school may decide to not get a substitute teacher. Instead the class without a teacher divides up into groups and each group will go to different classrooms.

Like I've said, just some things I've noticed. That's about all for today.