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Foreword When the teachers, joining the European Project -Action 1, met to exchange ideas, compare teaching methods and, in a word, decided to work together around a common area, they tried to find a subject which might also have a symbolic, unifying meaning. We were in Rome, people from Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Poland and Italy, thinking of the many links amoung our cultures. North-South connections through the centuries, mutual influences on languages, art, customs, political organizations: these were the ideas we expressed. When somebody hinted at barbaric invasions, a German colleague remarked that it would be more proper to substitute to the disparaging term "barbarian" the word "wanderer". We all agreed on reversing a negative stereotype and looking for the positive contributions of the wanderers towards the creation of a European culture. The Middle Ages, from the 5th to the 11th century, would be the common area of research and study for the students and teachers of the European project. The teachers of the Liceo Scientifico I. Newton of Rome decided to focus on Longobard influences on Italian toponyms, on the history of Goths in Italy and on a particular kind of wandering, namely the pilgrimage, through a European road: the Via Francigena. This common thread went through the regular programs of Italian, History, English, Latin and the yearly outing took the Class II E to Lucca and Altopascio, important landmarks on the Via Francigena. The following notes are the result of the collective experience of class group work, which offered many points of reflection to the students of II E, mainly how difficult, but also how rewarding, it is to learn how to work together.
Prof.ssa Giovanna Gentile Coordinator of the Project Socrates – Action 1 Liceo Scientifico I. Newton, Roma |