Tantissimi auguri di buon anno a tutti!
Thank you, dear readers and subscribers, for reading this blog. Thank you, for loving the Italian language and culture so much that you teach and promote it thoughtfully. Thank you, for buying our products on Teachers Pay Teachers. Thank you mostly, though, for your patience, as I have not posted anything here in almost a year now.
I have been going through some things.
Professionally, I was involuntarily transferred to the middle school in my district in May 2024. I have successfully taught kindergarten, high school and even undergraduate university courses. I have never taught middle school! In fact, I have carefully avoided teaching middle school in my 20+ year career. I am filled with awe and admiration for middle school colleagues because, to be honest, when I say that I am not a middle school teacher I do not say it with a sense of superiority, but, rather, the very real sense that teaching middle school is not only a science and an art, but also an act of serious love of humanity and selflessness! I was, probably obviously by now, truly afraid of middle school. Again, not because it is beneath me, but because I honestly did not think I understood the enigma that is the psychology of pre-teen humans. Kindergarten, high school and college kids were transparent to me; the randomness of the 11-13 year old was absolutely opaque! But, I am proud and honored to report that I have found nothing but generosity from my colleagues and, especially, my middle school students! I now wonder why I waited so long to join the ranks of middle school teachers! It is challenging but also so very rewarding and thanks to my Grades 6-8 students, I have again found the joy of teaching foreign language (I also went from teaching predominantly Italian courses to predominantly teaching Spanish – they’re both my native languages, but I confess to having a preference for teaching Italian!)!
Personally, my only child graduated university (undergraduate) in May, has moved to Europe and is now teaching English; the physical distance is both a blessing and a curse. I miss the kid! My health, too, has been hit or miss (mostly miss) throughout this entire first semester of the 2024-2025 school year. I am healthy again, and hope to stay that way for at least the entire 2025!
Di nuovo, buon anno! Vi auguro buonissima salute e pace! E certamente: buon insegnamento!
Project-Based Italian 