Please visit EF Australia website to see relevant programs, offers and pricing information.

Academics

Boarding Life

Language And Culture

Parents

Alumni

Student Stories

School News

Language Learning

New York

Pasadena

Oxford

Stories from our international boarding schools

Isabella Zangirolami ‹ EF Academy Blog

<p>Next up in our TEDx EF Academy series is <a href="https://www.efacademy.org/new-york/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New York</a> student and Ambassador Isabella:</p>
<h3>Consequence vs giving responsibility</h3>
<p>For the first 3 years of elementary school I was the worst student in the entire school. I did not get good grades, and I really did not care about it. I was constantly punished, I was constantly in and out of the principal’s office. The teachers made me write down the things I had done wrong. I wrote down so many negative comments about my behavior that my remaining hand got covered in blisters. And soon enough I developed self-consciousness about my mental capabilities and a deep fear towards adults.</p>
<p>I thought people didn’t want Bella, people wanted someone else.</p>
<p>So I learned to lie, because I was now scared to get punished. It became a habit; even when it was not necessary. One day I told my classmates to be bilingual because I was not even Italian, the next day I said I was able to MAKE – all by myself –  the prettiest and most sophisticated clothes… and that my father was teaching me how to drive in the mall’s parking lot.  Of course no one believed me, but it was my way of escaping from reality.</p>
<p>I felt so bad about myself that I came into a cycle of self pity and easy detectable lies, but I didn’t really care about it, because that was my little way of taking revenge, I wanted to appear like the big fish, who knows how the real things are done; I wanted to appear smarter, older, enough, so that teachers didn’t dare to go against me nor consider me inferior anymore. For me they were in the wrong, they were punishing me, discriminating me from the rest of the community, just for a bunch of bad grades.</p>
<p>One year later, I moved to my mothers house as a consequence of my parent’s divorce. I finally got to 4rth grade, the year in which my English teacher asked me to take attendance, “Why me?” I thought everyone was ashamed of me, so I didn’t understand why such an important charge had gone to me. I became Isabella Zangirolami, official attendance taker of section B grade 4.</p>
<p>Well, that changed my life, because I felt like someone was believing in me. And from having the lowest average of my class I became the best in the whole school. From being an introverted and stuttering child I became the most outgoing child you could have ever laid your eyes on. I had the best notes, I was proactive in class, and I even managed to get scolded for arriving too early at school.</p>
<p>And here I am now, with many achievements that I would have probably never got if I did not have that teacher in 4rth grade. If I didn’t believe I was capable of taking responsibility, if I didn’t try, if I didn’t work for it. I bet we all have had to face rules once in our life…  a set of boundaries we got to know and play with since the earliest stages of our life…</p>
<p>But this leads us to another question… Who chooses these rules and why are they even there? Why and what is the purpose of getting punished for breaking a rule?</p>
<p>In 2008, Gherardo Colombo, a former Italian magistrate with over 33 years of experience published a “book, “on the rules”, and according to this book he says that rules are normatives, and as a consequence a hierarchy is naturally established, therefore it is inevitable to create groups which are in advantage and people who get discriminated against, before they are even born… Which consequently makes the system unfair, discriminatory, and hypocritical when giving punishments.</p>
<p>A good analogy with this are prisons. In Italy if you do a crime the lawbreaker gets to lose a big chunk of what we define as human rights. Cells in Italy are about 1.80m x 2.40m big, one sink and one toilet, plus extra 2 roommates. If you are lucky enough you get to have a window. In the best case scenario you get to have 1 hour outside you sell per day, and 10 minutes a week to chat with your family.  You lost your dignity, your privacy, and opportunities to find a job in the future. Now think about it. After this treatment do you think you are going to be grateful to your government or do you think you are going to condemn it? Do you feel you even have a choice?</p>
<p>To give you some visuals, with the traditional criminal justice system Italy got 68% as recidivism rate, this means that 7 people out of 10 go back to criminality after going to prison every five years. With the same system the United States gets up to 76.6%, almost 8 people every 10. In France 59% recidivism rate, Germany 40%.</p>
<p>Clearly not an efficient system.</p>
<p>Now the same dynamics follow in other relationships: parents and children, teachers and students, and in every other case in which punishment is present. Because punishment is based on revenge and not education, punishment in fact is the failure of education. Because with fear keeping things right is easy as long as there is control, but as soon as you don’t see it people go back to their old habits.</p>
<p>So what do we do to avoid this? You do exactly what my English teacher did, you give, you don’t take away. You give more responsibility, you care and help those who took something away from you, now this might sound like a cliché but treat others like you want to be treated.  Because it is thanks to this that people like me got the chance to change, got the chance to see hope, and get better.</p>
<hr>
<p>Find more TEDx EF Academy stories <a href="https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/efacademyblog/topic/student-stories/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>

Who chooses society's rules and why are they even there? Why and what is the purpose of getting punished for breaking a rule?

Consequence vs giving responsibility | TEDx EF Academy - EF Academy Blog

Consequence vs giving responsibility | TEDx EF Academy ‹ EF Academy Blog

Consequence vs giving responsibility | TEDx EF Academy

Ef academy tedx consequence responsibility

<p>Music teacher Dr. Samuel Bill has been one of my favorite teachers at <a href="https://www.efacademy.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EF Academy</a> since 9th grade. I first joined his choir, and I later tried to teach him some sentences in Italian like “sta zitta” (be quiet) and “i piccioni sono belli” (pigeons are beautiful). His academic achievements are jaw-dropping and plentiful, therefore I invite all of you to visit his <a href="https://www.samuelbill.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">website</a> where you will be getting to know him more formally. However, other than his extraordinary academic and work-related achievements I want to highlight his qualities, like his immense thoughtfulness and humor, which make him a delightful and reliable person to be around and to talk to.</p>
<p>With that said, I’m happy to say that we have an interview with him today so we can get to know him better.</p>
<h3>Now, before focusing on your present and future, let’s start from your beginning. Dr. Bill, How old were you the first time you played an instrument? What was it?</h3>
<p>The first time I ever touched an instrument I was 1 year old. I come from a household of musicians, it was kind of an initiation rite I had to take part in.</p>
<h3>After that, do you think your relationship with music has mutated or evolved throughout the years?</h3>
<p>As I mentioned before, I started playing piano and was introduced to music really early by my parents. After that, I went to music school where I developed some hostility toward taking lessons because of a bad piano teacher and because I became aware of the time restrictions that path was giving me. At the time, when I was 7, I was quite upset to know that I could not play with my friends as much as I wanted to.</p>
<p>Passing that phase, I realized how much I loved music, and at 14 I eventually decided that I wanted to be a conductor. In fact. I studied for 10 years and finally did work for it from 2007 to 2012. At that time, however, it wasn’t enough because of the years of crisis where financial investments were cut all around the entertainment industry. So I started doing musical arrangements, played organ, music teaching lessons, and many other temporary roles. Luckily, I still ended up liking what I did regardless of the hardships. One thing that stuck out to me was teaching, which now is what I plan and I’m still planning to do full time.</p>
<h3>You have a lot of experience on your back Dr.Bill! I wonder… Do you still get frustrated when you are not able to play a piece of music right away?</h3>
<p>Always! Especially because of my packed schedule with teaching, it happens that I don’t get to practice as much as I want to. You know, Paganini once said: “If I don’t practice for one day, I notice it; if I don’t practice for two days my friends will notice and if I don’t practice for three days, even my audience will notice.” Musicians need to practice up to 8 hours a day to improve their skills, while to maintain it it is necessary to do it for 5 to 6 hours a day, and because of my full time job and family I loose some fluidity. There’s no pause for a musician.</p>
<h3>Talking about your full time job then, why did you decide to teach this subject, and why IB?</h3>
<p>Before teaching at <a href="https://www.efacademy.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EF Academy</a>, for the reasons I mentioned before, I used to teach at summer school programs. I loved the enthusiasm of the students, and to see their growing interest. Once I was introduced to IB I became happy to teach it full time because of the way that the program introduced students to all kinds of music, from all kinds of cultural backgrounds. I really liked the inclusivity and the potential to make students grow and get out of their comfort zone.</p>
<h3>It seems like music never gives you some alone time… but does it? Dr. Bill, do you ever sing in the shower?</h3>
<p>I surprisingly do not, I follow the philosophy to take short quick showers. Save the planet Bella!</p>
<h3>Dr. Bill, you are such a role model and a good liar, I refuse to accept the fact that someone in this world, especially you, has never sung in the shower. Jokes aside, I have another question. What are you most proud of as a teacher?</h3>
<p>The moment in which I feel most proud of is… when my students continue playing and <a href="https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/efacademyblog/importance-experiential-education/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">experimenting</a> even after the class has ended. As a teacher, I’m not here to teach students how to get good grades and forget about it, I’m here to empower and help them to enrich their knowledge and water their seed of curiosity. Thus, when I see my students getting gradually more passionate and invested, I feel like I have done a good job.</p>
<h3>What advice would you give to your students who want to continue to work in the music industry or start studying IB music?</h3>
<p>Always look to explore and push yourself to find and experiment with new things. Look out for novelty, never stop at just one thing that works out.</p>
<h3>Last question, but not for importance… What is your favorite word in music?</h3>
<p>Interesting question… among the terminology I find funny the pronunciation of “bisbigliare” (which means whispering in music terminology and Italian).</p>
<h3>Interesting choice Dr. Bill, I would have probably said “allegro” (which means happy in Italian). With that said thank you so much Dr. Bill! It was really interesting to see how you developed the relationship you have with music, and what influenced you doing what you ended up doing. I really enjoyed this interview, and I appreciate you finding time regardless of your packed schedule!</h3>
<p>No problem Isabella! You know I’m always here when you need me. Thank you for taking the time to be so nice to me, and interview me. I’m so close to saying that I officially became a celebrity.</p>

Dr. Samuel Bill teaches music at EF Academy New York and supports students as they hone their technical musical skills. Get to know him better!

8 questions with Dr. Bill, music teacher at EF Academy New York - EF Academy Blog

8 questions with Dr. Bill, music teacher at EF Academy New York ‹ EF Academy Blog

8 questions with Dr. Bill, music teacher at EF Academy New York

8 questions music teacher ef academy new york

<p>With the spooky season upon us, <a href="https://www.efacademy.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EF Academy</a> wastes no time organizing scarecrow making, cozy movie nights, and pumpkin carving activities!</p>
<p>EF Academy’s National Honor Society is a club which runs fundraising, service opportunities and activities for the school – all for the betterment of our community as a whole. This week the focus was School Spirit, by having a dress-up themed week and many after school activities which had excellent outcomes.</p>
<p>My favorite activity was the pumpkin carving show: Pumpkins are often viewed as something that needs to be scary, but each of us had to take a pumpkin and try to give it our interpretation of what Halloween meant to us.</p>
<h3><b>How to carve a pumpkin</b></h3>
<ol>
<li>Choose your pumpkin.</li>
<li>Decide if you want to remove the seeds of the pumpkin from the side or top of the pumpkin.</li>
<li>Take out the seeds and separate them from the pulp.</li>
<li>Take a marker and draw the outline of where you want to cut.</li>
<li>Cut.</li>
<li>Look at your neighbors’ pumpkins and chat while they get distracted.</li>
<li>Show and celebrate your pumpkin.</li>
<li>Roast the seeds and eat them as a healthy snack while enjoying your favorite movie.</li>
</ol>
<h3><b>Isabella’s tips and tricks</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Use a spoon to scoop the inside of your pumpkin. It will make the inside pretty and smooth, perfect for a nice candle keeper.</li>
<li>Listen to your favorite Halloween playlist. If you don’t have one, check on the internet. It may help you find the right inspiration.</li>
<li>Find references on Pinterest and try to give them an original twist: think if you want to add hair, glitters, hairbrows, mustache.</li>
<li>Remember: NO LIMITS.</li>
</ul>

With the spooky season upon us, EF Academy wastes no time organizing scarecrow making, cozy movie nights, and pumpkin carving activities!

Topics

Isabella Zangirolami

All posts from Isabella Zangirolami