Article by Serena Trombini
Between the Canadian and the Italian schools we can see many differences regarding the
organization of lessons, the relationship between students and teachers, and how the school
itself is structured. The name of my school is Carbonear Collegiate, 500 students attend it
and it is located about 5 minutes from my house. To go to school I take the bus every
morning and it takes about 10 minutes to go there, and 40 minutes to go back. Everyone has
their own bus depending on where they live and everyone arrives at the school more or less
at the same time. The school starts at 9.00 in the morning, where the first period is from 9.00
to 10.00, and the second period is from 10.00 to 11.00. After the first two periods we have
recess for 20 minutes, where you can decide to stay in the cafeteria or to stay in class. At
11.20 the third period begins until 12.20, and the fourth period ends at 13.20. After the fourth
period, from 13.20 to 14.00, lunchtime is scheduled during which we are allowed to go out
for lunch in the places we prefer; alternatively you can have lunch in the school cafeteria or
bring your own food from home. The last period starts at 14.00 and ends at 15.00 and after
school there are buses that take you home.
As regards the schedule and the subjects, we find great differences compared to our way of
management. Before school starts, you need to choose seven subjects from those you are
most interested in studying or those you need to get the credits you will need at the
university. The subjects I have chosen are biology, mathematics, world religions, nutrition,
English, physics and chemistry. The schedule works like a circle, we don’t have the same
schedule every Monday, Tuesday, etc., but it changes every day. For example, if I had
biology in the first period, I know that after biology I always have mathematics. If, on the
other hand, I had nutrition in the first period, I know that after feeding (nutrition) I always
have English. We do not need to look at the schedule every day, because it is enough to
remember the last subject you had the day before to know the schedule for the next day. As
for the classes, you never stay in the same class all day. In Canada, it is not teachers who
change classrooms, but students change classrooms every period. Precisely for this reason
we have lockers available at school, so we don’t have to carry the weight of books, but we
can leave them in the locker and take them when we need them.
Speaking of grades, in Canada students are evaluated not from 0 to 10, but we work with
percentages, therefore from 0% to 100%. There are no questions, only written tests, and
there are two types: the assignment where you are authorized to use your notes during the
test, and the test where you are not authorized to use your notes. They both apply equally.
In some subjects such as nutrition, clothing or world religions we are not evaluated with tests
or assignments, but only with portfolios, and they are nothing more than google documents
where you have to answer questions or write an essay about a topic discussed in class.
Portfolios are also evaluated in the same way as assignments and tests.
Usually, during the lessons, the teachers hand over some sheets on which the lesson of the
day is reported from which you can take notes and, before the end of the lesson, a
worksheet with various tests is given to check if the lesson has been understood or simply
for exercise. A few days before the test, however, we are given review sheets that collect all
the exercises carried out for that particular unit that will then appear in the test. This is for
studying and reviewing for the test. The teachers are very helpful and willingly help
throughout the lesson, and, if needed, provide additional study sheets and more tests you
can practice on.
Forget about homework, because, before the end of each lesson, worksheets are always
given to work on, which replace the work to be done at home. As far as the study is
concerned, the checks are always carried out at the end of each unit. In view of the tests, the
teachers always hand over worksheets to review and study everything that is foreseen in the
test; all of which makes studying fairly quick and easy.
In conclusion, I find the Canadian school easier than the Italian one. The topics I’m studying
right now are the same ones I studied last year. There may be days when, in most lessons,
you don’t do much or repeat the same things you did in the last lesson, and the material to
study is very minimal. On the other hand, however, the teachers are very helpful and
whenever a new topic is discussed, they make sure all students are up to date and
understand the topic.
I immediately adapted to the school here in Canada and both teachers and students
welcomed me very happily from day one