Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2017 Newsletter------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The interactive whiteboards does not exist but there are 8 classic green magnetic boards, all used during the lesson. There is also a blackboard with a separate screen. The checks are daily with cards printed only on recycled paper. Classroom ordering and cleaning of the chalkboard turn in turn to the students. During the breaks, the headmaster is in the teacher-room to share with teachers a tea or slice of sweet( which never misses). Every Friday there is a coordination meeting with all the teachers to discuss weekly work, problematic issues, and activities to be planned. That is, a general meeting every week! Actual lesson hours per teacher are 27 of 45 minutes each week, but considering the early morning hours, weekly coordination, and 40 minutes of break-time in the day, the teachers are doing much more at school.
Although there are many differences between the German and Italian school system, I felt comfortable with colleagues and students and I felt the positive atmosphere in the whole Schwanthalerschule. My aims with this job shadowing were to learn more about the Country and German school system. Furthermore about foreign languages training, I improve my English language and I listen to a lot of words in German; I create many contacts with teachers in Germany to give opportunities to my students to be able to compare our countries and communicate through eTwinning chat with German students.
At the end of this great jobshadowing experience I think that I learnt more during my two weeks in Schwanthalerschule about the country ' s school system, culture, food and language, than studying the same topics in my university training!
So what did I tell my colleagues when I returned to my school in Italy about my visit at Schwanthalerschule in Frankfurt? Well, I told them that it is a school with teachers who really care about their students and welcome newcomers( like me) in a friendly way. Furthermore, I noticed that the school takes good care of the environment in the school, which contributes to the positive atmosphere. I also mentioned the new changes to the schedule, made in order to encourage the students to take on more responsibilities for their studies. Another thing I talked about is how serious the students are about school and how important it is for them to make good result to get high grades in order to get a good job in the future.
The impact on me that left an indelible trace was two very intense experiences: the visit to the Dialog
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