A trip like many others, to nearby Milan. But not all students were able to participate. Only the most deserving and those who did not have an average of 8 remained in school. This is what happened to a class, a third, of the Italo Calvino secondary school, part of the Niccolò Tommaseo district institute in the center of Turin. The 14 and 15 year old students had participated in the ‘Riconnessioni’ project by creating podcasts. The aim is also to be guests in the Radio24 editorial team. But there was an established limit of 15 children, given that the radio, sponsor of the initiative, had asked for a maximum of 45 students for three schools. Those from ‘Calvino’ would have been chosen according to the criterion of merit, by decision of the class council. Some students did not leave, including those with learning disabilities and disabilities, remaining in class and carrying out project activities.
Some parents thus decided to tell the story to a Turin newspaper while others now sympathize with the teachers and have asked for a meeting to talk about this story, given that they do not share the initiative to address the media. Meanwhile, not only the literature teacher who coordinates the project has ended up in the eye of the storm, but also the principal of Tommaseo, Lorenza Patriarca, well known in the city as a municipal councilor of the Democratic Party and president of the Education commission at Palazzo Civico. Her school has a motto: “All different, all special, all together.” The district institute, elementary and middle school, is considered the flagship among those in the city.
“We have 48 students with certified disabilities – explains Lorenza Patriarca – the number of students with different types of Bes enrolled in our classes is 4 times higher than that of other comprehensive schools at a national level as shown by the ministry’s statistics”. “The literature teacher involves the kids in an infinite number of initiatives and educational outings by working on projects, even in stays with multiple overnight stays outside the city. The class council, in its autonomy, without involving the management – underlines Patriarca – decided to choose on the basis of merit referring to scholastic results of at least 7 and 8 and absence of disciplinary notes, commitment and interest included because in a class that works on projects the evaluation necessarily takes into account the active participation of the children”. As regards the student with disabilities, Patriarca states that “the support teacher assessed with the class council that the ‘trip’ was not useful for him and that it would only create stress for him. But it is the only outing in which He wasn’t involved.”
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