SARAH
Elementary Education
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SARAH
Elementary Education
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Pre-dinner at my host’s home
After just about three days of travel, we made it to Siena around 4PM yesterday. My hosts are exceedingly warm and caring. I live with Cinzia (pronounced Chin-see-yah), a 50-something mom, and her own elderly mother, Gloria, a hilarious fireball of a woman who doesn’t speak a word of English, but has made it very clear that to be molto bellissima I really need to gain some weight. I think she is making this her personal mission. I can’t complain, the food has been heavenly. We’ve had pasta and cheese and wine and pastries…not a vegetable to be seen…hah! I did go for a run about the countryside this morning, though, and it was absolutely beautiful. We live about a 20 minute bus ride from the city center, so it feels quite rural here, especially running out away from the center. This morning was our first day of school. It was an “open day,” which meant that perspective parents come to tour the school and learn a bit about the International Baccalaureate programs. We visited the classrooms of the International School of Siena - a very small school, with fewer than 20 students per class, grades preK through 12 - and got to chat with the students. Everyone, teachers and students alike, seemed happy to be there, unstressed In the afternoon, I joined the classroom that I will be teaching in for the next two months. I’ll be in grade 2, which is about equivalent to U.S. grade 1. The students are all 6 or 7 years old. The students are a fantastic bunch - sweet, spunky, and excited about learning. There are nine different languages spoken among the 18 students in the class. Italian is the most common native tongue (9 students are native Italian speakers). English is the language of instruction, so nearly every student in the class speaks English to some extent, though their levels vary quite a bit. Other languages spoken include: German, French, Dutch, Finnish, Russian, Korean, and Chinese. Watching the children as they are playing together, aware of their language differences and adjusting accordingly depending on the languages of the children around them is a fantastic sight to see.
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AuthorHello! Ciao! I'm originally from the rural Finger Lakes region of New York state, but I've lived in Michigan, Japan, South Korea, and now, Siena! I originally got into the field of education after teaching English in South Korea. I've continued to study education because kid-brains never cease to astound me. Apart from spending lots of classroom time with young children, I really love to run. I am excited to explore the gorgeous Tuscan hills on foot. Hopefully all the hiking will balance out the ridiculous amounts of pasta and cheese I am sure to consume. Thanks for following along! Archives
May 2019
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