Lessons from Ester: Cultivating a Passion for Reading and Life in Every Student
Dear Readers,
Meet Ester, my incredible former middle school Language Arts teacher. Even though she's not teaching anymore, the unique way she taught us still deeply affects me and many others. Her love for Italian language and literature was contagious, and she had this special approach that made us all fall in love with reading and learning.
I vividly remember how Ester's open-ended questions challenged us to think deeply and creatively. Instead of just looking for the right answers, she encouraged us to explore the multitude of possibilities that literature presents, teaching us that there are many ways to interpret a story. This way of teaching didn't just improve how I think and analyze things; it also helped me become more creative, making me more open-minded and curious about the world of literature.
Throughout our conversation, Ester shared insights into her motivation for teaching, her rewarding experiences with students, and the challenges she faced along the way. She highlighted the importance of adapting teaching methods to meet the diverse needs of students, fostering a collaborative environment that includes parents, and using literature as a tool to connect with history and the human experience.
Exploring the Heart of Teaching with Ester
Q: What was the main motivation that pushed you to dedicate yourself to teaching Italian language and literature?
Ester: Teaching literature in middle school is almost impossible. However, I began to select certain passages from Manzoni's The Betrothed (I Promessi Sposi), specifically those that seemed most appropriate, especially for the 8th grade. I chose the 'Farewell to the Mountains', the character of Don Abbondio, or the description of the plague. The reaction was pretty mixed.
Nevertheless, I never gave up on incorporating literary elements into the curriculum, particularly for the 8th grade. Teaching in middle school made me realize the importance of aligning with the students' interests to spark their love for literature, or more broadly, for reading. Therefore, I initiated several reading projects that involved not only the students but also their parents. We would select a book, read it together, and then have discussions about it, including with their parents.
When I heard other teachers assigning books over the holidays with the expectation of receiving summaries, I was dismayed. Such methods, in my opinion, do nothing to foster a genuine interest in reading among children. Instead, I encouraged students to read any book they enjoyed at home and then bring it to school to share or exchange with classmates. Moreover, already in the 70s, we ventured into theater, staging excerpts from Calvino’s Marcovaldo and Il Barone Rampante (The Baron in the Trees), long before school theater became a common practice. This experience opened new paths for exploring various literary themes, including environmental issues, even though at the time they were not of pressing relevance.
Q: Ester, during your career, was there a literary work or author that you found particularly rewarding to teach?
Ester: For me, it was Rodari, Calvino, and Sepulveda. But I also enjoyed picking pages from other literary texts.. For example, I believe I was one of the first to read All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque. Classics can be challenging for middle school students, so I initially sought to motivate them with works that could pique their interests. After building this foundation, we could then explore poets like Ungaretti and Quasimodo. I also tackled poetry of a certain depth, including Leopardi, whose works hold relevance even today.
Choosing to read pages from All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque, from Se Questo è un Uomo (If This Is a Man) by Primo Levi, and from When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Kerr, gave us the opportunity to connect with history. History, in fact, is also studied through literature. These books help us understand what was happening during World War I and the situation of Jews persecuted by Nazi doctrine. La Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy) is a work that helps us immerse ourselves in the reality of the fourteenth century. When you read Ungaretti's poems, some of them immediately take you to the Karst Plateau during World War I, making you understand its horror (or anguish). Literature is absolutely a great means to understand history.
Q: Ester, do you remember a moment of a project with your students that particularly excited or satisfied you?
Ester: Yes, the stage translations of Marcovaldo, Anne Frank, and works by Sepulveda were particularly memorable. Sepulveda gave me so much satisfaction because it was the culmination of two years of study, after which the students recreated 'The Story of a Seagull and the Cat who Taught Her to Fly' in comics. Another project that brought me great satisfaction was the creation of a book of poems titled 'Let's Learn by Creating' (‘Impariamo Creando’). The graphic posts scattered throughout this article feature extracts from this very book. Over two years of preparation, we read a lot of Rodari, and I emphasized that a poem could emerge from a single word, without the necessity for rhyme. This resulted in a collection of poems by my students. The goal was to show that even a single word can inspire a poem that resonates. Even though finding the right rhyme can be challenging, and perhaps only the most adept students could manage it, I never dismissed any attempt.
Q: Ester, let's talk a little about challenges. What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in teaching?
Ester: It was motivating the kids. Motivation is a very important thing. Unfortunately, you cannot motivate a class using the same method for everyone, because each child has his own inclinations and abilities. Therefore, you have to focus on those abilities. Of course, you shouldn't stop there; you need to try to expand them from that point. This is fundamental. In any case, I would never have succeeded if I hadn't had the support of my students' parents behind me. I believe that one of the things missing today is parental involvement, the willingness of parents to collaborate with teachers. A divide has been created between the world of school and the family. The teacher is no longer seen as someone who is there for the good of these kids but is almost viewed as a nuisance.
Q: Ester, do you have a teaching method or approach that you have found particularly effective in engaging students?
Ester: I had several. My explanations never lasted more than a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes. When teaching history, I worked through patterns, now known as concept maps. After drawing the conceptual sketch on the board, I would have the students verbalize everything. In teaching Italian, my focus was on human geography. My love for history resonates with my students, who often reflect on how it helped them understand current conflicts. I encountered a former student recently and I asked her to describe my teaching style. She remembered me as strict, demanding, but also generous in my teaching. I always made sure to come prepared for class, sometimes even deviating from the planned lesson. I believe I was among the first to use concept maps, favoring questions that stimulate thought over simple yes-or-no answers. In my view, the effectiveness of a question lies in its clarity, not in its complexity.
Q: Ester, how have you seen students' interest in history evolve over the years?
Ester: I haven't taught in a few years, but it pains me to see history reduced to 'Read from page to page.' This is not how you make kids love history, because you have to make them understand that history is fundamental to being able to understand what happens in the present.
I taught for 31 years and had no intention of stopping. However, significant personal challenges—my mother's illness and my husband's battle with depression—forced me to make a heart-wrenching decision. After I realized I could no longer deliver the clarity and dedication my students deserved, I reluctantly stopped teaching. The tears came often after that, mourning the loss of my calling due to circumstances beyond my control.
Especially in the first years of teaching, I made many mistakes, which I couldn't avoid anyway, because university doesn't prepare you for teaching. Thanks to professional development courses and ongoing experience, I was able to improve. Nowadays, if instead of holding competitions* they held professional development courses of even one year, it would be much more profitable, because no one teaches you how to teach, just as no one teaches you how to be a parent.
*In Italy, becoming a tenured teacher requires passing the 'CONCORSO,' a competitive exam that assesses both subject knowledge and teaching abilities. Unlike simple qualifying courses, the CONCORSO rigorously ensures that only highly qualified candidates secure permanent teaching positions. Theories are undoubtedly important, but you also have to know how to adapt the theories to the actual reality of the class in front of you, and it becomes increasingly difficult, because in a class if there are 30 students, you have at least 20 different realities. And how you turn is not easy. Being a teacher has become much more difficult than when I was doing it, and what traps you in the whole job is this little consideration that these parents have for the teacher and for culture and teaching in general. No one can understand anymore that culture is a means to free oneself, to live better.
Q: Ester, do you have any advice for teachers just starting their career?
To be humble and always take the kids' side without ever judging them. Don't think you have the truth in your hands because no one holds the truth entirely. Seek the truth, but don't sideline yourself. I remember when I started explaining among the students, and when the principal came in, he often found me among them. So, be humble and always listen to the kids without ever judging them, without having prejudices. And you know what's very important? Cooperation with both parents and teachers. Today, teachers are always in a hurry, never have time to cooperate, and there is not enough exchange between teachers. Perhaps because life presents you with choices (family, children, etc.), but this does not mean that cooperation isn't fundamental in teaching. The teacher today, in many cases, is alone. And then, there must be no competition between teachers. There must be cooperation. And the role of a good principal should also be to extinguish any competition that arises between teachers.
Q: What hopes do you have for the future of education?
I would like the Minister of Education and those who collaborate with him to have firsthand experience in the classroom before announcing a qualifying course or a competition. I believe that this would significantly improve our schools. My wish is that they wouldn’t solely focus on theories. While theories are valuable, I've seen how they can adversely affect students. Take, for example, a recent case involving the son of an acquaintance who attended a Montessori school. His parents were distressed after being informed that their child was dyslexic, struggling with reading and writing. A friend of mine, also a former teacher, worked with this boy and demonstrated that he could, indeed, write well. Most importantly, she helped remove the burdensome label that had been wrongly assigned to him at his previous school. Truly, the foundation for a student's motivation and interest in studying is laid in middle school.
Ester's story shows how much passion and creativity can change education. She used innovative methods like family reading projects and school plays to help students love reading and find their own voices.
After talking to her, it's clear that Ester did more than teach about books; she encouraged students to find what they love, think deeply, and keep learning with excitement.
She believes education needs to focus more on understanding each student and really helping them grow. Thanks to Ester for her hard work, for supporting us, and for teaching us that literature opens doors to knowing ourselves and the world better.
S.A. Sterling