3. Commercial School - Cultural Activities
If participating in cultural activities such as guided excursions and other events is important to you, my advice is to find an appropriate commercial school. Unlike those institutions that are an extension of a university programme from the US or wherever, the Italian owned commercial schools have to compete for foreign students. This makes the schools more receptive to student satisfaction, because the best form of advertising is a satisfied student.
To judge from their advertisement on the Net, commercial schools are eager to publicise their extra-curriculum activities. For example, here is part of an ad I copied, “students are given an introduction to the culture of Bologna by teacher-guides on accompanied city walks and are introduced to the most interesting parts of the city.” Or this one, “Our language school offers excellent language programs and cultural activities since 1980.” Indeed, when it comes to commercial schools and their offerings, there is no shortage of choice. The difficulty is finding one that offers the activities that would interest you.
To judge from my experience at Scuola Leonardo da Vinci at Siena, the school did an excellent job in offering a series of cultural activities. Some events were free, but many were not. At Leonardo we had free mid-week lectures on Tuscan cooking, the Contradas, pronunciation, and guided tours to churches and galleries. Each weekend, the school offered a tour to other cities in Tuscany and Umbria. Generally, the median price of these excursions was 30 euros [2005], and I think the special dinner was also somewhere in that range. In other words, activities were affordable. On the other hand, many of the younger students felt that they could do better by making their own arrangements. From my perspective, I was only too happy to pay what I considered a modest amount and have everything done for me. One caveat here: the tour leaders were not official guides but drivers, and there were occasions when we could have benefited from a knowledgeable guide, but this is cavilling. Certainly the dinner at a local inn was one of the highlights of my stay.
So, if your principal criterion is that you want more than just the classroom and you have decided to attend a commercial school, you need to examine what the different schools offer. In terms of extra-curriculum activities, Scuola Leonardo at Siena should stand high on anyone’s list. But note that the Scuola is also located in other cities, and I have heard that the one in Florence does not offer as much to its students. This is strictly hearsay. Remember too that there are other criteria which you need to consider, and which I will be discussing.
To judge from their advertisement on the Net, commercial schools are eager to publicise their extra-curriculum activities. For example, here is part of an ad I copied, “students are given an introduction to the culture of Bologna by teacher-guides on accompanied city walks and are introduced to the most interesting parts of the city.” Or this one, “Our language school offers excellent language programs and cultural activities since 1980.” Indeed, when it comes to commercial schools and their offerings, there is no shortage of choice. The difficulty is finding one that offers the activities that would interest you.
To judge from my experience at Scuola Leonardo da Vinci at Siena, the school did an excellent job in offering a series of cultural activities. Some events were free, but many were not. At Leonardo we had free mid-week lectures on Tuscan cooking, the Contradas, pronunciation, and guided tours to churches and galleries. Each weekend, the school offered a tour to other cities in Tuscany and Umbria. Generally, the median price of these excursions was 30 euros [2005], and I think the special dinner was also somewhere in that range. In other words, activities were affordable. On the other hand, many of the younger students felt that they could do better by making their own arrangements. From my perspective, I was only too happy to pay what I considered a modest amount and have everything done for me. One caveat here: the tour leaders were not official guides but drivers, and there were occasions when we could have benefited from a knowledgeable guide, but this is cavilling. Certainly the dinner at a local inn was one of the highlights of my stay.
So, if your principal criterion is that you want more than just the classroom and you have decided to attend a commercial school, you need to examine what the different schools offer. In terms of extra-curriculum activities, Scuola Leonardo at Siena should stand high on anyone’s list. But note that the Scuola is also located in other cities, and I have heard that the one in Florence does not offer as much to its students. This is strictly hearsay. Remember too that there are other criteria which you need to consider, and which I will be discussing.
posted by Toby1939 at 10:20 AM
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