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10 December 2009

the right education

well, i had no idea that enrolling alice in primary school would be so difficult. the international school we liked doesn't accept february babies, they ignore the moratti law and think younger kids aren't mentally sophisticated. pure bullshit, it depends on kids, of course. i'd like the director to spend a few hours with alice. i'm sure she could teach him lots.

plan b now is pretty confused. all private schools are run by nuns here. even if some teachers are not nuns, we're talking about religious institutes. i'm afraid i've to exclude them, because i'm against that lobby. the italian community in slovenia has very good schools in the main cities of the border, i like them but they don't offer english in the first 2 years, so that's a con. there're public schools to look at now. a very good one adopting the montessori system is in the port area. we'll try that one. finges crossed for my girl, hey!

on a different note, i read the local newspaper il piccolo this morning, while having breakfast at the bar near the school after leaving alice and cueing at the post office for a good hour -argh! nutella croissant and latte macchiato are delights for my moody days. they were not enough to instill me good vibes, though.

controversial news about the mafia informant who accused our prime minister of being the instigator of the bombs that killed 10 people in rome, florence and milan in 1993 were covered by another education related news. american student amanda knox and her italian boyfriend raffaele sollecito were condemned to 26 and 25 years of prison. together with rudy gere, already sentenced to 30 years, they're guilty of strangling and suffocating their friend meredith kercher, a british student who resisted their sex game in perugia.

it must be such a shock to send your child to school abroad and they don't come back. how can you get over this? as a mother of the victim i'd be devastated. not just by the death but by the nature of it, the brutality of it, the violence of it. on the other hand, i'd probably be completely convinced of my baby's innocence, too, like amanda's mother is. i'd have problems to accept the portrait of her as a twisted and diabolical sexual huntress. to me, my baby would still be the person i know: an outdoorsy seattle college girl who got good grades, liked yoga, soccer and rockclimbing, partied occasionally and kept extra condoms in her bag just in case. so what?

but in the end, i'd feel relieved. amanda she was sentenced to 26 years in prison. okay. at least she can be thankful that she is not facing the death penalty. capital punishment was abolished in italy in 1948. has she committed in some us states, she could well be sitting on death row. the verdict may not be the one many americans wished for. some are saddened, because the prosecution did not present enough evidence for an impartial jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that amanda knox was guilty. but to have serious questions about the italian justice system and whether anti-americanism tainted this trial is too much. amanda was a co-defendant. her former italian boyfriend raffaele was also found guilty. does that verdict mean the trial was also anti-italian?

4 comments:

  1. Keeping my fingers crossed that Alice can get into the Montessori school. She is incredibly gifted and smart! They have a few of those schools here and I always wanted Aaron to attend, but can only do so much since he's my nephew and his parents have the final say in where he goes.

    Patrick and I were watching the trial on Amanda and even though we are Americans, we felt she was guilty and deserved the sentence. It is a very sad situation and there really are no winners here. An innocent life was lost by a horrific murder and you can never replace that.

    Keeping writing my dear friend. I enjoy your blog and reading your perspective on things!

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  2. Alice will do well in any school so why do you worry so much? It's almost more important what you can teach her (about life, love, friendship...) than what she'll learn (and forget eventually) in a school.
    Whether Amanda is concerned, she would deserve the death penalty: you take one life, you lose the right to yours. I am pro death penalty for crimes against people' lives and healh (murder, rape, genocide...) but not for other crimes. Amanda can truly be happy for being trialed in Italy.. I know, her dieing wouldn't bring Meredith back, but it would (in my opinion) mean justice was served.

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  3. I knew about the murder of the british girl in italy didn´t know the exact city...terrible thing, i also remember about a worst thing in UK, 2 kids kidnapped and killed a kid year younger tha them both, i think they were under 9 years or so...insane! what a world!!!

    Finger crossed for Ali's new school... by the way the Montessori method is a very good choice, quite apreciated here in Chile specially in my city (Santiago). Anyway, whatever school u choose of take for Ali will be ok! the best education, that one that will shape the kind of person Ali will be is given at home, and she couldn't have a better one!. You know that Alf and specially u have done 'til now a perfect job with ur daugther!, she is an angel...

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  4. you're right, sandra, but school is important, that's why i worry. i belive that, throughout a child's life, there are important people ( parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, friends etc) who shape their growth and development, influence their decisions and teach them the lessons of life. and, while all kids make mistakes or go through hard times, it is this group of role models that provides a foundation, a support system to steer that child in the right direction and lead them on the path to success. so, i hope my struggles for finding a good school will end in a decent way.
    thanks you guys albertha and lorena fo ryour support, too :) nice to know my blog is interesting for you!

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