School (ughhh)

          Well, in an effort to procrastinate my AP homework even further, I guess I can blog for a while...  As you may have guessed, my entire purpose of going to Italy is to attend a high school there.  Often times when I tell people about this, there first question is, "Why?".  Well, it's pretty simple.

          New Experience:  This one is fairly obvious.  Not many people get the opportunity to study in a foreign country while in high school, and personally, it fascinates me.  Many say that, "they could never do that", and I cannot understand that.  I can understand that it might be a little intimidating, but to completely shut the option out?  I don't get it.

          Unique Education:  Every country has a different education system, some better, some worse.  America is still home to a significantly successful system, but perhaps an exposure to a different way of things could be of use to my future.

          So now i'll tell you a little more about the Italian school system.  First of all, there is not just one type of high school like the US.  There are six different kinds, Liceo Classico, Liceo Linguistico, Liceo Delle Scienze Umane, Liceo Scientifico, Liceo Artistico, and Liceo Musicale e Coreutico. Around their equivalent to our eighth grade, the students take a test that will determine what school they go to.  Once placed, they follow curriculum's specific to their high school's focus. I will add an image to better organize it.

This photo, as well as the next, are from Katie's blog on the AFS website.

          Also, there day-to-day schedule is much different than ours.  My AP class granted me more freedom, but it was not always that way.  In America, everything is pinned down to the minute, with little student freedom beyond the allotted amount the teacher offers.  There, the students run their classroom.  I say their classroom because it really is theirs, all through high school.  They remain in the same room all through high school, with the same students, and rotating teachers.  A complete 180 from here.  

          The "liceo" I am hoping for is Liceo Linguistico.  This high school focuses on the modern foreign languages of today, including Italian (obviously), English (even more obvious), Latin, French, Spanish, and German.  Can you imagine how awesomely multi-cultural that would be?  An American, in Italy, in a German, Latin, French, and Spanish class, all taught in Italian.  Crazy!  Another one of my top choices is Liceo Scienze Umane.  I believe the direct translation of that is "human science".  This school focuses on exactly that, psychology, anthropology, sociology, ect.  That being said, I am open to any one of them, but would prefer not to be placed in the Liceo Musicalo e Coreutico. That one focuses on the arts, and can be specific to dance/choreography.  That does NOT sound like my kind of field!  Haha!

          As you can see from the picture above, there way of school is a little different.  School is attended on Saturday, but only for 4 hours, while Monday through Friday are for 6 hours.  There is no assigned gym class, but at least once a week, the class will go to the gym for a free period.

          Also, being that I have not been accepted to my program yet, (stress on the yet), I do not have the donation widget on my blog.  For now, however, if you would like to donate, I have a GoFundMe page set up that you can use. I'll have the link at the bottom.

          Well, I guess that kind of wraps things up. Hope you feel more educated, haha!

          (Sidenote: Listen to the song Pompeii by Bastille. Greatest song ever... just saying.)

http://www.gofundme.com/sendmetoitaly