Long days in the classroom.

Today, was another long but good day in the classroom. I generally have groups of about 4 students, starting at 8 am and ending today at 4:30 pm.. You can get pretty worn out but I just have to do it for a few more days, so it is doable. The students have been wonderful but their school system is quite different than the Am. system. For example, their about 25 students in each class but the numbers constantly fluctuate because many are often on a field trip. Like today, some were in Rome, others have been to Greece or England. These students seem to be from families who are at least in the upper middle class. Students often come late to class or the teacher comes late. Each class stays together for whole year and maybe for 5 years. (High school is 5 years here). And the teachers move from class to class while the students stay in one room.

In the photo above, one student, Caesar, came late to class. He told me he was late because he had a party at his house and didn't go to bed until 3 am and his parents were not home. I can only imagine. Students can be as old as 20 years old, because if they don't pass the final exam, they repeat the final year. Many students smoke. In the morning, I am often greeted by smoking students right outside the school doors. It seems a bit odd.

Generally, the students are polite, respectfully and attentive. Some speak English better than others, but many are quite limited, even though they have taken English for about 10 years, starting in 2nd grade. Their school day ends at 1:30 pm but they have school on Saturday. Some schools drive cars, but they have to be 18 years old.

The car in the photo is a special French car, designed for trainee car drive or teenager. It can only go about 40 mph. And the driver cannot have any passengers. I have seen lots of "different" cars in Italy. Many nice cars and cars I would never see in the U.S. Fiat is quite popular, but other European car companies seem to be quite popular too. Their are few SUV's or larger cars, maybe it is because families are small, with an average of probably less than two children. Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in the world.

I am hoping the swine flu doesn't affect my return flight. I guess there were 4 cases in Rome but I have seen little news.

Take care...Ciao.