I was wondering if those of you with kids in school in Italy, or connected with schools recently could tell me what is the real impact of the Montessori and Reggio Emilia education models in the country. Are schools that use these methods considered "private" like in the US, where to go to a Montessori school you have to pay for it?

My wife went to one of those schools. But she says nowadays it's probably better for us to send our kid (when we have one) to public (state) schools. I, initially, wanted to send our kid to these private schools because I didn't want my (would be) light brown skinned kid and obviously not full Italian to school with a bunch of ignorant Italian kids who think like their maleducati parents do and to be teased all day. However, after living here longer, I realize that even the well off kids don't have much more educated parents nor perfect families either. Plus, she thinks these days public school kids have a better education and definitely more interaction with foreign kids.

Your resons to send your (future) child to a public school are well-thought out. However, what does you wife think of her education? And was it a Montessori or Reggio Emilia school? Is the education in public schools better because it is a different method? Or is it better for other reasons? Also, if you were to send a kid to a private Montessori school...how much does that cost?

I know its a lot of questions...but i'm really curious.

Thanks!

While Montessori is private, I think it receives subsidies from either the church or the government because the cost is much lower than in the states. My son (4 years old) was in full time Montessori school here and the cost was 86 Euro per month, meals included! When we looked at the cost in the states it was much much higher. I was very happy with the level of education he received there. He is much above his classmates in school in the US since under 5, the schools there are mainly directed play.

Jim-

That's amazing bang for your buck! Tuition at a Montessori school in VT is around $600 month and no food included!

Jim, was your son's school only for preschool?

The main point with the average private schools is that they pay very little: there are shcools out there that pay as little as 400 euro per month to their teachers. This means that these teachers are mainly young people with barely a degree and who will move to a different (usually public) school in as little time as possible, or leave teaching, or teach only part-time and devote most of their attention to another job that is more rewarding.
Obviously, not all private schools are like that, especially those that follow a specific teaching method.

Yet, it's nice to notice here, especially since we are on the argument, that the so-called Reggio Emilia method was born and devloped in the public schools of Reggio-Emilia.

Finally, while considering the factors, don't forget that public schools in Italy are completely free or require the payment of a tiny tax (about 30-40 euro per year), and up to the fifth grade included also the books are paid for by the state.

quote:

Originally posted by Alice Twain:
Finally, while considering the factors, don't forget that public schools in Italy are completely free or require the payment of a tiny tax (about 30-40 euro per year), and up to the fifth grade included also the books are paid for by the state.

Ummm...isnt that the definition of "public school"? (ie that they are free)

Nope. Public schools are state-owned or comune-owned schools. They do share the tract that tone does not need to pay fees for them, but what makes a school public is the public (not private) ownership.

Yes, but I have never every heard of state/public schools charging fees. Maybe they do in very poor countries...but certainly not in Europe or other rich places.

I went to public/state school in Australia and all we had to pay for was our uniforms and the occassional field trip. This is not a plus but a given to me.

(This will please Pola- another 'idiom/saying)!
I'll now 'put the cat among the pigeons' shall I?

As we're speaking English - let's explain what is, and what isn't 'public'....

Public toilets...NOT free for ladies, but free for gentlemen.
Public footpath....pavement that anyone can use free of charge.
Public entrance....way in for (usually) the hoi-polloi!
Public transport....anything but free.

And (for now) - last but not least...
Public Schools.... NOT free, in fact very,very expensive!.
These include schools such as Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Lancing College, Roedean, Benenden and others. Schools where parents enrol their children usually as soon as they are born, thus ensuring that they will have a place there! So sad, but so true....
The free schools are called state schools!

And what fool aspires to learn English when it could be written thus.....

GHOTI - in English is pronounced FISH......
Don't believe me? Then let me explain -
'GH' is pronounced 'F' as in 'Rough'.
'O' is pronounced 'I' as in 'Women'.
and 'TI' is pronounced 'SH' as in 'Extortion'

See - it's simple!

If you're interested in comparing different "private" schools in Italy: my 5 year old was enrolled in a private catholic school in Florence. The tuition was 890 euros every three months (so about 300 per month) plus a 105 one time registration fee. The school was beautiful - in a villa with gardens, full outdoor playground, light-filled classrooms, great teachers, etc.. - and the tuition included meals made on the premises. We also paid about 100 euros two sets of the uniform.

I thought this was a great deal - since I think we almost spent that much for only food at her private school in the US - not to mention the outrageous US tuition!

wow - that is (relatively!) cheap. I'm a lefty and publicly (OK "state" for the British people on this site) educated and don't believe in private education as a rule - but even i might be tempted by that if I had a kid here in Italy...

So what about Montessori schools - to go back to the original question. Do any public/state schools here follow the Montessori teachings?

I could not even find any private Montessori schools in Florence. Here's the Italian Montessori Website though.

Maria mOntessori was a great woman, but invise to the fascist regime. That's why her schooling method has been devenloped and applied mainly outside of Italy. Yes I know this sound crazy.
Public schools don't generally use her method, even if occasionally some teachers do.

My brother went to a M0ntessori kindergarten in Perugia when we lived there, and I know it is still active but that was 35 years ago.

The Montessori method?
Well it is certainly still alive as a teaching method throughout Europe. My husband went to a Montessori school in Milano before the second world war. And if you 'Google' Maria Montessori Milano (or wherever) I bet there are still many schools where her methods are alive and well.

That Kindergarten in Perugia is still there. my son went there last year. It was a bargain too at 82 Euros a month.

In theory school is "free" until 5th grade.
That's what I've been told.
Most of the books they give you (I still have yet to understand why the books aren't delivered directly to the school and then distributed by the teacher)
A few books are "optional" - you have to pay for them ---
Obviously it isn't really an option - what is your child suppose to do in a class without the optional book that everyone is using?

The schoolbus is about 20 Euros a child per month. You can get a discount if you are poor according to their standards (the standards are "interesting" - there is no consideration to how many people in the family - 100 is 100 regardless if you are feeding one or if you are feeding 12)

Backpacks , pens, pencils and so on the parents pay for. That's ok for me until they start ordering special Fabriano paper with a 4 inch watermark , special liscio quality ,non smudge , acid resistent .... you get the picture.

And lets not even start talking about the different notbooks - lines- double lines - squares - medium size - small - tiny squares....
geezus!

quote:

Originally posted by kellytree:
And lets not even start talking about the different notbooks - lines- double lines - squares - medium size - small - tiny squares....
geezus!

Yeh, I don't really get the notebook thing. In the US everyone uses lined notebooks/paper...why the squares? why the different size squares? It seems so much easier for the kids, just learning to write, to have just horizontal lines...the vertical ones just seem to distract. Just my two cents...

Squares are for mathematics. Kids in the first and second year use the 5mm ones, older kids the 4 mm ones. Horizontal lines are used for writing, but squares help you keeping those numbers in a column when you have to add, subtract or do other mathematical stuff. They also help you to sketch geometrical figures without too many instruments. And for th very young kids, they are great for drawing "cornicette", which are repetitive little chained drawings that go from simple ~ o ~ to very complex stuff (I used to always draw braids) that children design to complete a page. it's a simple and funny thing to do to break off the more tiring lessons and activities. Also, Italian cursive is usually taught first on squared paper to help children with the proper sizing of the letters (Italian cursive is a (very ugly) non-slanted and much rounder English cursive).

In first and second year I remeber only using 5 mm squared notebooks for maths and "righe di prima" or "righe di seconda" notebooks for writing, and cheap white paper for drawing. I started to use the heavier paper at "medie", for technical (smooth paper) or artsy (rough peper) drawing. Yet, since the very start the teachers were also asking the motehrs to provide some materials (despite the budget being better at the time, the families already had to provide a lot of it) for class stuff. We used white A3 sheets for simple "cartelloni" to be hanged in the class and epalining simple writing or grammar rules, as well as a few maths principles. Later we started to use much larger colored boards for producing group research works, which were also hanged on the walls for everyone to read.

I asked to my daughter teacher at KG why is Montessori method not much used in Italy, and she told me that besides all the reasons I gave before, the Montessori method is really expensive because it needs TONS of material, and when it goes to money the ministeries do not pay.

quote:

(the standards are "interesting" - there is no consideration to how many people in the family - 100 is 100 regardless if you are feeding one or if you are feeding 12)

I will check about this, because i believe that IT MATTERS how many people it is in a family.
If you have only one salary coming IT MATTERS if you are supporting only 2 or 5 peoiple, otherwise why should they ask you for the STATO DI FAMIGLIA?

Actually you have more "points" if you are single mother/father, far from family, foreigner, and also if you have more children than another.