As part of their course work in IT 130, students were required to read "Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct" by P.M. Forni.
P.M. Forni was an Italian who sought to benefit individuals and society by promoting civil behavior. His goal wasn't just about promoting "being nice." Civility has benefits to the individual (in the form of better quality of life and relationships) as well as society. In learning about another culture, the students of IT 130 were encouraged to take on the responsibility to be more aware and more civil with others and their culture.
While traveling, students were required to keep a daily travel journal. In this journal, one section students were asked to include were reflections of civility based on the book that they observed. Below, you will find one entry from each student's travel journal.
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“In order to be healthy, we need to live among others.” (P.M. Forni 30) - Throughout this day, I felt tired and unmotivated to go places. It had been a long week already and I was in desperate need of alone time, however, I still went out. While being out with everyone, my energy started to go back up. I am the type of person to thrive around other people, so being with people helped me feel better. Student: Audrey Decker
There were a couple instances today where being on time was of the utmost importance so that we did not miss our scheduled time to visit different places. It made me think back to chapter 14 in the book, which discusses being respectful of others’ time. I have always been a person who is early to every event I attend. My favorite quote from chapter 14 is “punctuality is nonnegotiable” (Forni, 97). I like this quote not only because of the inherent truth, but because in a way it is what I live by. Student: Garrett Watson
I noticed how different Vatican City was compared to Rome. I did not expect it to be as calm and less crowded. There were also many tourists around the Vatican, which was expected, but some of the streets were not as crowded compared to Rome. “Being civil means being constantly aware of others and weaving restraint, respect, and consideration into the very fabric of this awareness” (9). Student: Jenna Giran
When discussing civility, P. M. Forni states acknowledging others. He mentions that acknowledging others could include, “just plain saying hello” (41). On the first day, I heard buongiorno more than any other word. Italians not only say this to people they know but as a sign of respect when entering a store, bar, restaurant, etc. Italy has a more community feel because of this simple greeting. A simple hello acknowledges the store owner's presence and the customers as people rather than an employee and a customer. It breaks this 4th wall we have in the USA. Student: Sofia Khatiwada
Today I witnessed civility when we were walking into Vecchia Roma, the busy restaurant. The waiters had a lot of patience and kindness, even though I could tell that they were working hard and maybe even a little stressed. This related to the rule of civility to "Speak Kindly". In fact, the book Choosing Civility claims that "speaking with consideration and kindness is at the heart of civil behavior" (Forni 60). Whenever there is a stressful situation, there is the possibility for people to act on those emotions and treat people poorly. However, everyone at this restaurant that we met spoke with our group with patience and consideration. In return, I noticed that our group was considerate back to the waiters. As a result of this, there is a friendly and kind interaction, where we all build each other up. Student: Tai Valdes