Mr. Iacco Interview
Leading the MYP 1-3 class at H-Farm, Mr. Iacco is not only a fantastic science teacher but also the terror of all students (Just kidding Mr. Iacco 🤪). He loves snow sports and is a diehard Liverpool fan. In this interview we will ask more questions about his personal life and history during this interview.
How did you end up at H farm?
I ended up at H Farm. I was working at a private school in a city called Bath in England, and unfortunately, It had to close down because there weren't enough students. It was a private school that closed down, and I always had this idea that I wanted to travel and use teaching as a way of travelling the world. And, my parents are Italian and I always had this longing to come to Italy and explore my heritage a little bit. And a job opened up at H Farm, in the middle of the year. So it was January. And, I took the job, I had an interview. It's pretty crazy. I had an interview on December the 23rd. They offered me a job on December 27th, and by January 4th I was in Italy. So it all happened quickly within the space of a week, maybe a week and a half. So that's how I ended up here in Italy.
What is your experience in your career, have you always worked in schools?
I haven't always worked in schools. I started working in schools around 12 years ago. I trained as a teacher in 2011, 12. But before that, as I said before, I have quite a passion for travelling. So I used to go snowboarding. I'd go to different resorts all through my twenties. So from when I left university to, when I trained as a teacher, I went to different snowboard resorts. I got jobs as a janitor, caretaker, cleaning toilets, running lifts, shovelling snow, tour guide, and whatever I could to stay in the mountains. So that was my first passion. And then I got into teaching and I had two jobs in teaching, two permanent ones. As I said before, one in the bath and one here, and I've been here for seven years now.
Where did you like to go snowboarding?
Well, as I said, I took many jobs, and one of my favourite jobs was in Canada. I went to Canada and I spent a year out there. And that was beautiful because I grew up a little bit in Canada as well, so to go back to Canada and to go snowboarding, it was fantastic. Plus the snow was beautiful. But I did a couple of years in France as well, and a little bit in Italy. And it was all a great experience. So wherever there are mountains, wherever there's snow, I'm quite happy.
Why did you decide to become the head of MYP 1, 2 3?
I didn't decide why or when I came to H Farm and at the beginning, I was a regular science teacher. Then one day, they wanted me to look after the M1s and M2s. So, they said, could you be the pastoral leader of M1 and M2, which I agreed to. And then the following year, they decided to give me the extra responsibility of M3. And it changed my job a little bit and made it more academic, still looking after people, but a little bit more on the academic side as well. So, it wasn't my decision. I was asked to do it and, I decided, yes, of course. But yeah, it was something that was bestowed upon me.
Can you explain what your approach is with students and why you use this approach?
Well, my approach to students, you probably know this. So, you know, there's a Mr. Iacco out in the corridors and there's a Mr Iacco in the class. Mr. Iacco out in the corridors might be trying to keep everything in charge and uniform here. But that's not Mr. Iacco in the classroom. Mr. Iacco in the classroom, is more creative. You know, I like you guys to find your way. I don't like to stand at the front and just talk to people for two hours. That's not the way I do it. I'll give you a problem, I'll give you an inquiry and you go and solve it. Obviously, I'm there to support you. But that's the way I like to teach by allowing you as students to find your own way and discover how you get from point A to point B. That's the important thing for me. And not to stifle and suffocate you of learning.
One fun fact about you that might surprise your students.
When I was 18 years old, I got called up to the Italian army 'cause it was, there was mandatory service back then. And I was terrified. I was a young little kid at 18, and I got this letter in the post saying, right, I'm gonna pick you up here. You need to be here, and I'm gonna take you to Italy for the year. And I was pretty scared about it. So I had to get my dad to write a letter and say, listen, he's starting secondary education. He's going to university. Because believe it or not, Mr. Iacco was quite shy when he was a kid. So that was interesting. But, yeah, I was a little bit scared of having to be taken to the Italian Army.
What do you like the most about being the head of MYP1-3?
The thing I like most is probably having an everyday interaction with you guys as students. I get to know you all instead of just having one or two classes, I get to know everybody. I know all the students in M1 M3… I get to talk to their families. I get to understand more about how they work and a little bit more about their life. And that's a really important thing to me.
What's the biggest project you're developing at the moment?
We're currently working on creating an H Academy to give students some free time and the opportunity to participate in various events and activities. Our goal is to provide younger students with experiences similar to the older students, such as acceleration lab, of course, a "mini" version and allow them to engage in different activities instead of just attending lessons from 8:45 to 4:15 every day.
Last one, What do you think about Liverpool or almost winning the Premier League
Well, Liverpool will win the Premier League, let's be clear. But I have to say, I am so upset that Jürgen Klopp is leaving, that if we win the Premier League, I'll just be even more upset that he's leaving us and this is what he bought. I don't want to talk about it.