April 21, 2014, Lorraine Yu

We spent the first hour of class working on our group research projects.  We came up with our research question and a tentative timeline.  My group is working on immigrant youth in Italy, something that I’m really interested in because I compare it with my experiences as an immigrant in the US.  When class ended, we sadly had to say goodbye to Manka.  The whole class wrote and signed a card for her, and she gave us all souvenirs in return.

After a quick lunch break, Stephanie, our new professor, took us to Celio Azzuro, a preschool next to Circus Maximus.  Daniele, the director of the school, explained to us that the school provides a healthy environment to spread cultural awareness for both Italian and immigrant children alike.  Unlike most schools in Rome where parents are only allowed to drop their children off, Celio Azzuro lets parents spend about 20 minutes with them before leaving them for the day.  They can also spend that time talking with the teachers.  When they pick their children up, they can spend some time with their kids at the garden.  The school also holds events where families of students gather to spend time together.   During this time, Daniele tries to encourage families who have cultural differences to communicate with each other.  What I found particularly interesting was the admissions process.  Celio Azzuro will automatically accept children who are sent to them through social services.  From there, they make a list of foreign/immigrant families and Italian families and piece together a heterogeneous student body.  Priority is usually given to children who need it and come from various socio-economic backgrounds.  I really enjoyed the visit to this school and enjoyed the information that Daniele shared with us.