Rachael
Undergraduate
Elementary Education |
Rachael
Undergraduate
Elementary Education |
Ciao! I have almost been in Italy for two full weeks now, and tomorrow marks a week since my student teaching experience in Siena began! In all honesty, I can’t believe this is real life. To say my experience has been wonderful would be an understatement. I have absolutely fallen in love with Siena and the opportunities it has already provided me with. Exploring Florence for the first two days after our arrival was a really nice way to begin the trip. Everything was so beautiful there, and don’t even get me started on the food! I will be returning to Florence for my Spring holiday, so I am excited to be able to appreciate some more time in the city.
There is so much that I wish to share about the impact Siena has had on me already. When our bus arrived, McCartney and I were immediately greeted by our host mom and dad. Rosa and Leo were extremely welcoming and it did not take long for me to feel at home. They have been nothing but kind, caring, and loving during our time together and I could not have asked for a better host family. Honestly, even though the language barrier can make it difficult to understand each other at times, I feel as though it has not affected our ability to connect with one another at all. Not only have I been learning so much, but I have already built relationships with them that I will hold dear to my heart for the rest of my life, and we still have so much time left together! Our second full day in Siena, our Buffalo State cohort got to venture around and see just how beautiful this place really is. There is not anything I can say that will do the views here justice (oh don’t worry, I’ll be showing off lots of pictures). It quickly became my new favorite place in the world. Also, everyone has been nothing but friendly, and once again let me emphasize how INCREDIBLE the food is. I could easily eat pasta and gelato everyday here until the end of time. I genuinely have nothing negative to say about this place, my heart now belongs to Siena. Zero exaggeration. Now, let’s have a chat about the reason I am here to begin with, drumroll please…STUDENT TEACHING!! I am a student teacher in the grade 1 classroom (Kindergarten in the United States) at the International School of Siena. I feel like I sound like a broken record, but I mean it when I say these are the most welcoming people I have ever met. The teachers, staff, and students at the school are absolutely incredible. Working with them has been such a pleasure already. I want to be just like my mentor teacher when I have my own classroom one day. I have so much respect for her and it is evident how great of an impact she has on her students. As for the students, they are the cutest! I am so impressed by how knowledgeable they all are and I am learning so much from them as they are learning from me. They have also shown a huge amount of excitement for my presence in the classroom. I have never felt so much love and it makes me so excited about my future in education with students like these. There are plenty of observations that I have already been making about my student teaching experience at this school. For one, my classroom specifically has so much space. It is exactly what I would imagine an ideal classroom for Early Year Students to look like, plenty of room for play and also experimentation. Speaking of experimentation, this is a HUGE aspect of what a day in Grade 1 here looks like. Something I have noticed is that there is significantly less time for lectures/lessons compared to past placements I have had. This is done intentionally to give the students time to experiment on their own in order to inspire ideas, encourage creativity, and build personal understandings. This is where I immediately saw the characteristics of Inquiry-Based Learning take place, posing questions that they would then experiment themselves in order to answer those questions and problem solve actively. I feel that this is such a fun way for students to learn and I think it is just as, if not more, effective as the teacher formally teaching the content. I also feel that this allows for a great amount of flexibility, which is so important in a classroom to meet the needs of the students. I am beyond excited to continue learning about the school and to contribute to these kids’ educational journeys! Overall, even though this experience is still only in the early stages, I have so many takeaways that will help me grow as both a future educator and an individual in general. Also, I have had an amazing time getting to know this cohort from Buffalo State that I traveled here with. I am very lucky to be alongside each of them in this opportunity and I am excited to see the great things I know they will achieve. I can’t wait to see all of the things to come during my time here and all of the ways I have changed by the end. Keep up with my blogs to see me embracing Italian life! Ciao for now!
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Ciao! It is officially the night before the night before Italy, and I am getting even more excited as our flight out of Buffalo comes closing in. There is still so much that I have to do between now and then, and I am feeling all of the pre-travel emotions! As much as I am looking forward to this experience, I am definitely experiencing some nerves. This is most likely because I procrastinated to pack (as I always do) and will be gathering all of my things together at the speed of lightning tomorrow! Don't worry, I have compiled a list of everything that I need, so it is just a matter of putting it all in my bags. I was lucky enough to participate in Buffalo State's IPDS Torremaggiore program in January 2023, which has prepared me for the Siena student teaching experience in many ways. For example, going into this program I have the knowledge of the AMAZING food, views, and cultures I will soon be surrounded by. Most importantly though, I have the knowledge that I am going to once again experience the ins and outs of the Italian education system and will be leaving with a much more profound impact on myself. There is definitely more than I can imagine in terms of classroom strategies and ideas that I will be bringing back with me into the United States. One of the things that I am very enthusiastic to learn about is how Italian classrooms incorporate social emotional learning strategies to benefit their students. Also, we have been talking a lot about Inquiry-based learning in our pre-travel seminars, so I am intrigued to learn what this looks like in the International School of Siena's curriculum. There are so many ways that I want to become involved, both in school and out of school, to expand my understanding of Siena. I will definitely not take my time with these students and this staff for granted and will be asking every question that comes to mind. I am beyond thrilled to deepen my love for education and to be surrounded by the people of the International School of Siena in such a beautiful country that I am fortunate to call home for the next two months. Stay tuned to see me working with some brilliant 1st grade minds and soaking in every moment of this incredible opportunity. Ciao for now! P.S. pretend the suitcases say Buon Viaggio (the Italian version of Bon Voyage)
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AuthorCiao! Working with kids has always been one of my biggest inspirations and I cannot wait to deepen my passion through my experience in Siena. I have always had a heart for traveling, so being given this opportunity to take this next step in my future teaching career is a dream come true. Aside from traveling and teaching, I am looking forward to immersing myself in the different cultures, trying new things, and finding as many cute little coffee shops as possible! I couldn’t be more excited for this journey and will carry these memories with me always. ArchivesCategories |