Best summer of my life!

I would highly recommend EDUCO. This was probably the best summer of my life. Orientation is so much fun, you meet people from all across the world (although mostly white, I will say, which I hope EDUCO works on in the future) and play games, learn songs, and learn very useful information about how to teach. I felt comfortable with the people I was around; my only regret was that I didn't get to know everyone sooner.
Educo is hard, and can be stressful sometimes. Especially for people who think it's just gonna be a cool trip around italy while you get paid. You are a teacher, and your first responsibility is the kids and making sure they are having a memorable experience while learning English. I had a great time because I took that seriously. I know there were some people who did not take that seriously, and they had a tougher time with Educo. Someone admitted to me that they don't even like kids or wanna be a teacher, they just came here to travel around Italy for cheap, and it broke my heart. If you truly love teaching and are willing to throw yourself headfirst into this experience, then you will have an unforgettable summer. If you are rude, negative, unwilling, making excuses, not showing improvement during orientation, or not taking your job seriously (or racist and transphobic, as I found some people to be), then you will probably not have the best time with Educo, which I think is fair. You do this for the kids and for the love of teaching, not for your own personal enjoyment of Italy, although that definitely is a plus :).
I stayed with host families (one of which I consider my own family now), lived on a horse ranch where I taught a bunch of Italian girls the Cotton Eyed Joe, stayed at an airbnb outside of Rome and went to see the Colosseum every day after camp, stayed at a beach resort for 2 weeks where I had the best 22nd birthday ever, explored Milan when I was on hold, and got to travel to Genova and Bologna when it was all done.
I met amazing, unforgettable kids. Even if they tested my patience for 4 days straight, I was crying on the 5th day when I had to say goodbye.
I made friends with (almost) every tutor I worked with. I say almost because there were some people I just did not vibe with outside of camp, which I think doesn't matter as long as you work well together professionally, and I did work well with all the tutors I was placed with.
The only negative thing I can think of is how gender identity, as a nonbinary person, was brushed aside. During orientation, a leader of a group I was in asked "are there any pronouns I should know about?" and the way that it was phrased made me feel like I would be in trouble if I spoke up about the fact that I go by they, she, and he. The person then said "You won't see that in Italy", which I knew going in - Italy is a very gender binary country - but in my first week of camp I met an amazing trans kid who did go by they/them. Just wanted to bring it up so it isn't swept under the rug again and so more nonbinary and trans people feel like they don't have to hide their identity. I know that person had no ill will, and I believe Educo can work on improving this.
Overall, EDUCO is an amazing program for those who actually have a passion for teaching and working with kids. You'll meet incredible people, teach hilarious kids, eat amazing food, see unforgettable places, and learn about a beautiful culture, if you're willing to jump in head first and push yourself. I can't wait to do this again next year.