I am British and have lived in Italy for 14 yrs now. My first child will start school in September and I would love any feedback possible as to any of your experiences.
I see the whole schooling system as weak and inadequate in many ways. There seems to be so many aspects that are just wrong. Obviously I haven't got any first hand experience as yet, so this is just my idea. The schooling methods here (learning info off by heart and not actually understanding concepts), the huge school bags they have to carry around. The insane hours that full time pupils have..8am to 4pm and last but not least, the lack in understanding what importance presenting children's artwork and findings in display form upon colourful walls has. How is it possible that a primary school can boast a library, computer room and (tiny) sportshall and yet the interior is grey walls with plaster falling off them. NO sign of artwork or colour and no stimulating, colourful, inviting, fun ambience...just grey, dull walls in a long naked corridor. Likewise in all the classrooms.
I am very worried as to what effect this kind of environment could have upon my child for 5 full yrs. I personally would be depressed....
I would so appreciate any advice, opinions etc any of you have on this matter.
Thankyou
Emgee

Dear emgee,

We've just moved here from the UK and although our little one is not even 2 yet we are already planning for schooling. From what I can gather the elementary schools are a lot more 'traditional' than back home in many ways but we think that's probably a good thing. More discipline, more respect for the teachers, more emphasis on the core subjects and a good study ethic. Most importantly there seems to be little d***ing around with the curriculum, the teaching methods and the public examination schedule.
If you are the right kind of parent (and I think that you probably are...) then you will, I'm sure, want to fill in the gaps yourselves at home with the more 'fun' stuff.

I'm a teacher here in Sulmona and I teach kids from 7 up to 17 in a private language school. They are all polite, mostly well behaved and committed to learning so I've got no worries putting my own daughter through the same public system here when she is ready.

I hope this helps a little.

Would love to hear more experiences if anyone else out there is happy to share.

Katy

PS Personally (I can't speak for emgee here) I would prefer it if you did not post if you have no direct experience. It's a little tiresome to have to wade though a load of random comments - however well meaning

Welcome to our forum! Although, I have not seen the actual school building, nor have I met any of the teachers there, I can say that I agree with certain things you say. If I were in your place I would be concerned if indeed the plaster is falling off the walls or if indeed students do not understand the concepts but rather just memorize. However, I disagree with you in regards to the long hours and the carrying of heavy school bags. Don't you think that doing these things helps kids to build character? They need to get used to the idea of hard work now so that when they get older it won't be so difficult.

__________________
Dimmi con chi vai e ti dirò chi sei.

emgee, I too am very concerned about the primary education here in Italy.

My 7 yr old boy has been going to primary school here for 2 years now. But I feel that we will be returning to the UK sometime this year. These are my pros and cons of my son's Italian state school:

pros:
He is learning fluent Italian (he loves the memorizing but he doesn't know what he's saying!!!)
He has beautiful hand writing, they learn two styles of writing

cons:
Poor funding which means lack of materials etc.
Very poor IT teaching, no electronic white boards, no IT games (e.g. education City) = NO FUN WHILST LEARNING
No library!! the only reading is with one school text book - (I know for a fact that these stories lack the subjects a 7 year old boy wants to read about)
No support reading classes by support teacher or even parents
No extra classes for the advanced.
No praising or an award systems in place - NO ENCOURAGEMENT!!
It seems to be if a child is behind they just hope he keeps up. If he fails a year then he will sit that same year again!!!
There is no head teacher/master in the school which leads to responsibiliy issues
No school identity - no school awards/art work on show
No integration with other classes - no assembly - no joint singing

If your child is bright then I feel they are held back and if they are finding it hard then they are left behind.

OFSTED is needed in Italy!!! Teaching has evolved over the years and I think Italy is in danger of being left behind.

Even after saying all this I must say that my boy is very happy at school, but you only want the best for them don't you.

Oh yes - I forgot to say

A heavy bag is not character building, it's back breaking for a 7 year old!!

I do agree with Lisa about the superiority in many aspects of American schools compared to Italians - However many years back I came to the US after studying up to high school and 2 years of University in Italy. At the time I was also meeting often with American students.
I did find that for some subjects Geography / History Italian school was much more advanced - I also realized my math skills where much better than the average American Student and I have no problem finishing my BS degree at Suny Binghamton NY in the US and getting a Master at Cornell University.

However as soon as I arrived here I noticed how much better equipped where the US University compared to "La Sapienza" in Rome - At the time ( end of the 80s) La Sapienza did not even offer a Computer science degree. Getting to the US University was a leap forward.

In any case I hope I will send my son ( The one in the picture ) to an Italian school for 1 to 3 years - At least he will be exposed to a different culture.