"The future is not very bright for young people in Italy" is a striking statement said by Amara Lakhous, and I believe, is true when put into the context of the Italian education system. Education is a universal institution that every child is required to receive. However, not all doors are opened in all schools. Education is the primary tool needed to become literate, knowledgeable, and successful and unfair opportunities make that journey towards success much more difficult. The education systems in the United States and Italy are both intertwined with struggles and accomplishments concerning legal ideologies and policies, teaching strategies, and socioeconomic status and immigration.
From my recent experience working at Iqbal Masih in Rome and my previous experience working at Olympic Hills Elementary School in Seattle, it has become evident to me that governmental funding is a major drawback to the prosperity and success of education in both countries. The current laws instated in Italy by Gelmini have caused upset among many school officials and Italian residents due to the reduction of funding in primary, secondary, and higher education. Paula, the first grade teacher I am assisting at Iqbal Masih, informed me that the staff at the school are going on strike because of the unmerited laws. She told me, “Gelmini is very bad. She does not know the school.” This makes sense in relation to Amara Lakhous' lecture in which he spoke of the elderly politicians desire to keep the status quo and their opposition to change or enact laws in favor of the youth. He said, "The politicians want to win the election for tomorrow and are not thinking of society in 20 years" which is evidenced by the slashing of educational funding imposed by Gelmini. Government and education officials are neglecting the fact the children attending these schools today are going to be the future. In relation to the funding issues apparent in Italy are the inequitable funds in the education system in the United States. Although I believe No Child Left Behind instated by President Bush in 2003 is optimistic and pushes for educational equality, there are many drawbacks that impede on the success of students, teachers, and schools. For one, I do not think it is fair to base the academic success of a student on one test but rather take into account the progress of the student throughout the school year. Secondly, I think it is more detrimental to the success of a school to remove resources and funds if the school does not meet the standards. Rather than removing funds, more money should be given to the school in need in order to improve the success of the students. It is a never-ending cycle because schools that perform poorly are penalized by losing students and funds, and are therefore never able to regain strength or resources for improvement. In general, schools in higher socioeconomic locations usually have more distinguished and successful public school institutions, and schools in lower socioeconomic locations do not have the resources and money that are available to the wealthier locations. Rather than boosting the resources available to the schools in higher socioeconomic locations, I think it would be more beneficial to give the extra funds to the schools that are in greater need of the money. No Child Left Behind, similar to the laws enacted by Gelmini, does not take into consideration the ramifications for the future.
In terms of immigration and its’ implications on the schooling system in Italy, education officials cope with integration of immigrant students with struggle and success. Another problem imposed by Gelmini is her inclination to segregate classes for immigration students and the rule she authorized which states that each classroom is allowed to only have up to 30% of immigrant students enrolled. This makes causes difficulty for immigrant students to integrate with their peers and for schools with a high immigrant percentage to follow the rule. This rule does not promote multiculturalism teaching, but rather separation. Teacher training is another issue that affects the success of immigrant and non-immigrant students in the US and Italy. Due to the increasing rate of immigrant students enrolling in the schools in Italy, teachers and education officials have had to alter and adapt new curriculums and programs that meet the needs of the new students such as Italian as a second language and cultural mediators. In his essay, “Current Research into Education for Immigrants in Italy,” Jonathon Chaloff states, “The teaching style can determine the school success of a newly arrived child in the school system…There has been one main reason for which Italian teachers willingly participated in continuous education courses: they were required to.” However, this requirement was eliminated in 1999 and teachers no longer receive continuous education, which is detrimental to the success of their students, especially immigrants. In my opinion, I believe that continuous teacher training is imperative in a fluid society. By providing the teachers with more support they will be able to become better teachers and gain more knowledge and experience within the educational system. Nonetheless, Italian schools do have methods to relieve the tension of integrating into a culture and new school for immigrant students and their families. Culture mediators are accessible for immigrant students in their transition into a new school. All teachers in Italian schools are Italian nationals[1], but according to Chaloff most cultural mediators in Italy are immigrants or of immigrant origin and many were teachers in their native country. The cultural mediators communicate directly with the immigrant students and his/her family, serve as a translator and interpreter, and serve as a link from the immigrant and community services. I believe that parental involvement in the social, academic, emotional, and cognitive development of their children is a huge factor that determines the success of the student and the cultural mediators serve as a benefit for the success of the new student. In my Education classes at UW, I learned of a promising program that serves to help students and families of a lower socioeconomic status. The Harlem Children’s Zone targets the direct factors that affect a child’s cognitive and social abilities: their parents. They teach the importance of talking, reading, singing and other verbal integrative activities to improve their children’s cognitive, verbal and language abilities, which will assist the child’s academic success. It is not solely important to lift the parents out of poverty but instead to guide the children successfully through college so they can lift themselves out of poverty. I think that the HCZ is a great organization because it targets all areas in a child’s life from school, family, health, and social activities. This type of intervention is essential in the success of the students and I think all schools should have a method of the sort that directly involves the parents in their students' schooling both in Italy and the United States. During our visit to Esquilino School, Anna informed us of the Parent Association in the school. The association is composed of parents of students who volunteer their time to aid in the education and extra curricular activities. Out of the 815 students enrolled in the school, 47% are immigrants. The involvement of the parents is so imperative in the academic success and emotional confidence of the students and both the HCZ and the Parent Association are principal programs that have the potential to make vast improvements in the welfare of students.
After the Amara Lakhous’ lecture, “Italian Youth: A resource of a problem?” I began thinking of the implications of being a young immigrant in Italian society. Amara informed us that 99% of immigrants are in their youth and that, “In Italy, it is almost something to feel guilty about, being young.” The elderly Italian population is threatened by the arriving wave of young immigrants into Italy because they only want “real” Italians in Italy. The union leaders are all old so they naturally defend their own interests and the interests of young people are disregarded, especially those of immigrants. It is unnerving to think about the hardship that young immigrants undergo and the future for these immigrants. What will happen to the young immigrants in 20, 30, 40 years? Will they still be marginalized in society and in the sphere of education? Or will the education system lift them from their marginalization?
After the Amara Lakhous’ lecture, “Italian Youth: A resource of a problem?” I began thinking of the implications of being a young immigrant in Italian society. Amara informed us that 99% of immigrants are in their youth and that, “In Italy, it is almost something to feel guilty about, being young.” The elderly Italian population is threatened by the arriving wave of young immigrants into Italy because they only want “real” Italians in Italy. The union leaders are all old so they naturally defend their own interests and the interests of young people are disregarded, especially those of immigrants. It is unnerving to think about the hardship that young immigrants undergo and the future for these immigrants. What will happen to the young immigrants in 20, 30, 40 years? Will they still be marginalized in society and in the sphere of education? Or will the education system lift them from their marginalization?
I am basing my opinions solely from acquiring knowledge on the subject in my Education classes at University of Washington and from my experiences volunteering at Olympic Hills Elementary and Iqbal Masih. Due to the fact that I was very fortunate to attend privileged schools, in my life I have been slightly blind to mass achievement gap in my country and the hardships of integration and success in schools abroad. Studying and having a hands on experience working in lower income schools in Rome and Seattle I have learned an immense amount about the struggles and accomplishments in the Italian and American schooling system.
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