Hi everyone, I go to an italian high school in what you’d call 10th grade and well, my school is not that great. I want to say that our “classes” are different than the one you’re used to in the US, basically you have the same 20 or so classmates for all the five years of school and are the teachers of each subject that come to your class.
What I know is that all high schools around here are like this and if you wanted to go to a good one you’d have to travel too further to be fleasable. Teachers, here, are unmotivated and I honestly don’t get how some of them are not retired yet or got hired in the first place. The school principal insn’t good either, everyone knows that, from students, to teachers, so we can’t really talk or discuss anything with her. She should have retired at this point, but she asked for two other years and she got them.
Teachers instead, are unmotivated, they waste a lot of time at the beginning and the end of the lessons (once in my two hour science lessons we basically studied for 40mins) and they aren’t really that great at teaching. They make mistakes and can’t accept to be corrected and don’t let us explains our reasons when we get into an argument.
Around here there aren’t much oppurtinities either, italian schools have no clubs and I live in a small town, there aren’t really any educational related events.
Now, after all this introduction (sorry if I’ve written too much), I’m trying to put together a list of free resources that I can use for learning. My grades are good, but I’d really love to learn what I study in school in a more in depth way and things that aren’t that us, especially in STEM. I know about those MOOC’s websites but they really don’t teach high school stuff and khan academy algebra doesn’t really go in depth. Do you know any other resources for learning things of an high school level?
Thank you in advance for the answer (and for reading through all this mess lol)
I don’t think a lot of your Italian teachers worked hard to become teachers just so they could stand in front of the same kids year after year being mediocre. I find that in a lot of things, you get out what you put in. So why not ask your teachers where you can find additional resources or more in-depth learning on the topic? They might appreciate you taking the time to ask and follow up. In the meantime I would check out Khan Academy as @bopper suggested or perhaps your local library.
Look at study time given to you in class not as a waste of time, but as a chance to review the material to see if you have any questions. As you continue in advanced math or pick up other difficult topics, this time becomes valuable and appreciated. So learn to use it wisely now.
There is an art to correcting a teacher. Ask her to listen to why you think differently and explain to you why you’re wrong. Hopefully she’ll follow your logic, notice the error, and admit it. At the very least she will do a better job explaining why you were wrong.
Don’t let lack of extracurriculars stop you. No clubs? Start your own. Or volunteer somewhere. Do some fundraising for disaster relief. Teach yourself something new, then pass that knowledge on to others. Go spend some time with lonely folks at a hospital or nursing home. Hold a book fair. See if you can be an intern for someone who does something that looks interesting to you. Or look for a project you can do to improve your school or small town - doesn’t have to be anything grand, just something that lets you say you made a difference as best that you could. As they say, “Find a need and fill it.”
There are many resources however many of them are nation-specific. Look around on your own (internet will bring you Italian-relevant results). There are likely to be some resources and STEM competitions nearby.