Posted by katiep on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

May 24, 2017. 1:00 PM. Interview Participant: Giuliano. Interviewee Occupation: Student. Recording of my interview: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByaDeZPZG1liQ3JSVGlzeTBaRms

This afternoon I came across a business on the main road in Cefalù that advertised trip/tour planning, hotel reservations, etc. which looked like a promising place to stop into for my interview. The older man and woman working in the store did not seem too inclined to participate but luckily there was a young man inside named Giuliano who kindly offered to answer some quick questions. Going into the interview I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted my focus to be but upon learning that Giuliano was a 21 year old student at university in Palermo I decided to focus on education. In class we have discussed a little bit about how the education system works in Sicily so I have a basic understanding: students take a test to get out of middle school and are then “tracked” into a particular high school. For example, students may go to a high school specializing in linguistics, science, math, hospitality, art, etc. and then continue their studies in their respective subject area at university. Talking to Giuliano, this was something that he seemed to dislike about the education system here, saying that it was “not very good” and because he went to the linguistics high school to study English, French, and German, he lacks the mathematics skills that he wishes he had. (He even went on to brag about his 14 year-old brother who attends the science/math school as being “better than [him].”) Although Giuliano seemed a little unsure of what he would change about the education system here in Sicily, based on his negative opinion of his schooling and his desire to “study everything” it seems that he wishes the school system functioned more similarly to ours in America where everyone is required to have a core curriculum in order to receive a more well-rounded education and experiment with different tracks.

Despite the obstacles Giuliano has faced in learning math, he currently studies business and economics in Palermo. He said he chose this area of study not only to improve his mathematics skills but also because he hopes the generality will provide him with many different career opportunities in the future. This thinking felt similar to that of young people in America: choose a major that will make you valuable and marketable across several fields to increase your chances of success. However, Giulianos positive “go with the flow” attitude felt much different from the attitude of American college students who (myself included) constantly stress about where we see ourselves in five years and worry about mapping out a perfect plan to achieve our goals. While Giuliano does not yet know what he wants to have a career in he seems optimistic about the future and confident in the skills that he is obtaining at university.

By speaking briefly with Giuliano I learned a little bit more about the education system that we have already discussed in class and it was especially interesting to hear the opinion of someone my age who is still dealing with the school system in Sicily first hand.