Elin Mattsson, originally from Finlandis making a lot of talk about herself as a mother of 4 children, of 15, 14, 6 and 3 years oldwho has chosen to write a letter to SiracusaNews to denounce the state of schools in Sicily and his own dissatisfaction with the education administered to his children.
Dissatisfaction that has reached a climax with the decision of move elsewhere to be able to provide children with better educational institutions.
Finnish mother dissatisfied with Italian schools
A year ago Elin Mattson and her husband, an Information Technology Manager who work remotelyattracted by beauty of Sicilydecide to move here with their children, thus enrolling them in the local schools.
But, several months later, after having experienced the Italian school system, the whole family is very dissatisfied with the education the children receive at schooltotally different from what they were used to. For this they choose to move elsewhere, in Spain to be precise, but not before sending an open letter to the editorial staff of Siracusa News, in which Elin explains the reasons why she cannot live in Italy and does not want her children to study in our school.
“‘Mom they scream and bang on the table,’ says my 6-year-old. “Yes, it’s crazy that they use the whistle and shout,” says the 14-year-old, “and I know English better than the English teacher himself!”.” These are the words this letter begins with, thus reporting the direct statements of the children by the author of the letter.
At this point Elin introduces herself and begin to frame the situation better in which his family found himself some time ago, having to decide where to settle: “We are a Finnish family who moved to Syracuse, just because we could (digital works). We wanted to experience your fantastic climate and culture, but sadly our stay didn’t go as planned. We have already lived in both Spain and the United Kingdom and we (naively?) thought that the school system would be similar across the Mediterranean, but boy, were we wrong, our two boys, one aged 6 and the other 14, went to school here in Syracuse but it only took us a couple of months to realize it wasn’t worth it.”
Elin goes on to tell his first approach to the Italian school: “The school system is so poor. My doubts started from the first day I set foot in school for enrollment: the noise of the classes was so loud that I wondered how the hell it was possible to concentrate with that noise. That day I also caught a glimpse of a classroom where a boy of about 7 was doing an exercise in front of an angry teacher who scornfully looked down on not only the boy at the blackboard but all the pupils.It was shocking. “
So essential the comparison with Finnish schoolswhere children are entitled to more breaks during the day and are allowed to get up and play outdoors: “The school day is spent in the same chair from morning until you go home. What? “There are no breaks where movement is allowed?” I ask. “Just little breaks in the same class.” was the response I received. This would be one of the main factors to have a change in the classrooms: the importance of fresh air and breaks! If only the government understood the benefits! In Finland, students have a break of 15 minutes between lessons, and they leave the classroom to play together in the garden/patio. One or two teachers keep an eye on them while they are out. Finland realizes the benefits of children moving, playing , scream and run freely outdoors to get rid of excess energy and get fresh air, so as to perform better in school.”
Elin continues talking too of the problems of the nursery schools, which in his opinion are lacking in games and equipment: “I also have a 3 year old and I could see the kindergarten activity as well. I was worried when I saw the kindergarten garden (patio). Nothing to play with? Where was all the climbing stuff? Nothing? I mean, I’ve seen equipment for kids to play in city parks, so they sure know how to get it. Shouldn’t the kids play in kindergarten too? No, an empty garden around the perimeter of the building. That wasn’t good…. The kids Kindergarteners are mostly sitting inside, still around a table doing little things with just their hands? Really? Completely crazy. Having outdoor experiences is essential for every learner.”
Finally, the letter it takes into consideration the traffic factor and that of children entering and leaving school: “Another problem I noticed: how is it possible to think that the countless adults rushing to school every morning and every afternoon can be functional? Is the total chaos of traffic (and the environment here?) practical for families? In Finland children (7-12 years) go to school by themselves, they use their bicycle or walk and if they live more than 5 km from the school they can go by taxi/school bus.They have lunch at school, then go home by themselves when the school day is over. If they want, the child can go to another place (such as an afternoon club) until the parents leave work.”
