School starts next week. Except for children and young people Bolzano, which started on the 5th with great joy (from the parents of course). But definitely apart from the dates chosen by individuals Institutes And RegionsThe new school year officially begins next week. Which traditionally begins with a series of controversies, problems and some novelties. Let’s start with the controversies. Like every year, The missing teacher numbers are a waste: Some say 100,000, some say that one in three chairs will remain empty, some say 30,000 in Lombardy alone and some say that only the deputies are missing, as if the officials were all in their places and had the register in their hands. Aside from the numbers, which as always change depending on the source, the controversy remains. On the one hand, unions and professional associations, on the other, the ministry and some managers, with incursions from teachers who feel assigned to chairs a 800 km away and the parents are already saving for it Repetitions that their children will have things to do and who will plan their income and departure with military care. In fact, as every year, there will certainly be children and young people who will have their own teacher at the beginning of the school year, with consequences both for learning and for everyday life (later entry, earlier exit, empty hours of doing nothing). ..).
But this year the problem takes on a new dimension: it actually seems that many of the professorships that will remain empty will remain empty due to the lack of qualified personnel. Many provincial lists (yes, the lists are still provincial, these things were abolished six months ago) from which temporary workers are identified and called are completely empty or almost empty. Some competitions There are now very few winners waiting to be hired, and so we have, for example, 24 qualified teachers compared to a demand for 3,000 engineers, or 20 people compared to around 4,000 needs for mathematics and physics. But that’s not the only problem. In fact, Italy is starting the new year with worrying numbers in terms of school dropouts: only Romania and Spain are worse than us. These are figures that make little noise compared to other statistics that take up headlines and space, but the school dropout rate is over 12%, with peaks of over 20% in Sicily and 18% in Puglia. The European average must be at most 9% by 2030: we are far from making our contribution. But above all, we are far from having strategies and solutions to an enormous problem: first and foremost, for the children who have been abandoned and for the future of our economy and our country. It is primarily the most disadvantaged young people who drop out of school, either because they were born into economically difficult families or because they live in difficult social conditions. If we fail to solve this problem, these difficulties will not only persist, but will continue to worsen and even become impossible to eliminate, deepening inequalities and impoverishing society as a whole. A failure, to put it in one word.
We will also see this for this goal starting this year teachers, tutors, The PNRR (or what remains of it today) only envisages their creation for secondary schools in a more comprehensive orientation plan. There will be about 40,000 and they will have to support the students of the last three years, We help them become aware of their abilities and support families in making important decisions for their children’s future. Teachers conducted ad hoc training over the summer months and are available to support students and families. Or rather, they will be: because the ministry has extended it until September 16th The training period and dates will be agreed later. Could we start the year with at least some certainty in this regard? We could, but instead…
However, let’s leave aside numbers, controversies and problems. Let’s use the beginning of the new school year to all do our part. The children will do their part, but it is also up to the parents, teachers, educators and managers. Let’s go back to really caring for children: listening to them first, really living them, not to judge them from the huge sunglasses or the music they have in their headphones when they come to class. Let’s not limit ourselves to “What did you do at school today?” where the typical teenager responds with at most a syllable or a grimace. We are curious about the path they take, what interests them, what gets them into trouble.
Listening is the first step to education: it allows us to understand them and break through the generational wall that, unfortunately, becomes thicker and more resistant as we age. Let’s not blame them for a 4: Sure, it’s a problem, but getting a 4 in physics doesn’t mean you’ve failed in all subjects or in your entire life. Our first goal is to help them develop and find their path, not to expect them to get 10s in all subjects. And we respect the roles. Parents are parents, not best friends, not lawyers in front of teachers or PMs in robes in front of a school principal. There are WhatsApp chats that are larger than the main message case folders: We choose a side. That is, from the right person, not from the one who is “against” at all costs portraying children as saints on the run and not giving them the right training and educational moments when needed.
Let’s trust the teachers. There are many positive cases of teachers and professors who, in addition to the grade, put their heart and soul into what they do: they teach, train and do not limit themselves to teaching by re-reading concepts in a book. Let us place our trust especially in children. There’s a generation out there Generation Z, which in a very short time will make up the majority of the productive and entrepreneurial power of this country. If we want to change it, we’re out of time. If we want to change it, we have to start at school.
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Gabriel Sada