Semester in Florence!

Jolene Chartier Start Date: Mar 21, 2017 - End Date: Aug 22, 2017
  • Study/Degree Abroad
  • Professional Development
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Florence, Metropolitan City of Florence, Italy

My Travel Story

by: Jolene Chartier Start Date: Mar 21, 2017 - End Date: Aug 22, 2017
  • Study/Degree Abroad
  • Professional Development
  • Educational/Research Trip
Hi! My name is Jolene. I am currently a Junior at Alverno College. I will be graduating with an Early Childhood/Elementary Education Teaching Degree in May of 2018! Next semester (August-December 2017) I have the opportunity to study abroad in Florence, Italy at the Florence University of the Arts (FUA)!

While abroad, I intend to complete the required courses for my Creative Arts support. Florence is an ideal place for me to fulfill my art requirements and will enhance my understanding with on-site classes while being surrounded with the art culture throughout Italy daily. The cultural experience I will gain in Florence is something so different yet fitting to my future as a school teacher; a teacher cannot be ignorant toward students who have a different culture than their own due to the diversity encountered on a daily basis. Attending FUA will allow me to see how education is taught in another country. I will be able to bring ideas and practices that I observe abroad into my own classroom to enrich student learning. Global perspectives, valuing, and aesthetic engagement are three Alverno abilities that I wish to expand on while abroad and instill in the young learners in my classroom.

Unfortunately, although I have been working full time throughout the summer and 30 hours/week during the school semester, the trip is proving to be more costly than initially projected. Any donation, no matter how big or small, will help immensely. I thank you in advance for helping me to make my dream a reality.

I have listed some of the goals relating to academics and cultural understanding for myself as I go abroad:

1. Observe how the educational system in Italy works and how it differs from the traditional American education and Alverno curriculum. Education is something that changes from state-to-state in the United States, so I am curious to see how it changes throughout countries. After experiencing different education systems, I can incorporate positives from both into my own classroom.

2. Obtain a better understanding of those with different social, economic, and cultural backgrounds from my own. A better understanding of people I meet will allow for less culture shock and more enrichment. I can find similarities and differences from myself.

3. Learn basic Italian through a language course and exploring Italy’s lifestyle on my own time. The most daunting part about study abroad is the unfamiliar language that is dominant in your host country. I will be able to use phrases and words I am learning in my Italian course while encountering Italian speakers. If I can understand basics of Italian, I will be able to then learn the basics of other languages easier. This will allow me to have a more multilingual classroom; something imperative in the U.S. today. 

4. Complete my Creative Arts support in a setting that will enhance my understanding and allow me to build on my aesthetic engagement and valuing abilities. Italy is known for its art culture. This will enhance my learning experience abroad.

I will be doing a travel blog throughout my time in Italy; I will be posting the link on Facebook and other medias. Let me know if you want me to send you the link to it also!
  • Florence, Metropolitan City of Florence, Italy

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