IAP 209: Changing Teachers, Changing Students, Changing the Future: Teach for Italy

It starts with a simple philosophy -- "Better teaching makes better students, and makes a better future."  Today, a better future for Italy is the mission inspiring Nick Autiello and Andrea Pastorelli, two passionate Italians behind the early success of "Teach For Italy" (TFI). Built on the model of the highly-effective non-governmental organization "Teach For America," the project is the brainchild of Pastorelli, a young thought leader from Tuscany who brings years of experience working on global issues back to his motherland to focus on the most important issue of all, the future of our young people! Nick Autiello, an Italian American with roots in Campania, is a member of the board of directors of "Friends of Teach For Italy," an American nonprofit organization created to support this valuable young initiative. On this week's episode, they're joining us to discuss the inner workings of this program that identifies young Italian university graduates to serve a two-year fellowship teaching in Italy's most underserved primary schools. They couldn't be rendering a more important service to their nation, as decades of underinvestment and stagnation have brought Italy's education system into what can only be called a crisis. We'll examine this educational crisis in Italy today, look at how its structure differs from the system here in the United States, and what TFI is doing to form not just teachers, but future leaders.  And, we'll explore how Italian Americans are making a contribution to this effort through the works of Friends of TFI. Join us for this fascinating look into this most consequential of issues, and then check out the work  Teach For Italy  and Friends of Teach For Italy are doing to address this problem, and perhaps to become a part of the solution yourself! This episode is sponsored by Mediaset Italia.