Che classe!?

The title of this post can be translated as, “What class!” It displays the infamous use of che + noun/adjective for exclamations, which is NOT the subject of this post.

What I want to talk about is the misuse of the noun classe as “class, course.”


When talking about school and education, classe may indicate two things:
1. The physical room where lessons take place:

Come punizione, gli studenti sono rimasti in classe durante la ricreazione.
(As a punishment, the students remained in the classroom during the break.)

2. The group of students attending the same course, or sharing the same classroom:

Quest’anno la mia classe non andrà in gita perché ha fatto troppi scioperi.
(This year my class won’t go on a schooltrip because it went on too many strikes.)
When you are talking about a class or a course, use corso:
Questo corso di economia mi costerà una fortuna.
(This economics class will cost me a fortune.)
And when you are talking about a single lesson, use lezione:
Nella lezione di italiano di oggi, ho finalmente imparato ad usare la parola “classe.”
(In today’s Italian class, I finally learned how to use the word classe.)

NOTA CULTURALE: Studenti in sciopero

Are Italian students allowed to go on strike?!? Why not? It’s their constitutional right as Italian citizens and a great way to explore the cities without adult supervision. Beginning in middle school, Italians start to show their characteristic involvement in politics combined with a healthy loathing of structured education. As political leaders continue to protest the newest school reforms of the day, students may decide to skip school, either to join a demonstration or to go shopping. Students who refuse to go on strike are called crumiri (strikebreakers) or lecchini (kiss-a**). During my school years, I went on countless strikes and took part in two occupations of my high school.