“Come on guys, see you later” the high school graduates are encouraged as they cross the threshold of the classroom on the first day of high school graduation. All with the dictionary under their arm, there are those who send the last spells via smartphone with the other hand or those who shake the hand of a friend. “What time does the first rehearsal end?”, someone plays down. “In a very long six hours,” they reply. But there are those who venture “nothing scares me”. And in the corridors the last “good luck”s are exchanged.
At the D’Azeglio classical high school this year there are 185 people who will face the final exams ready for the challenge of the Italian test. These are the last moments for the toto-traces. “I hope for artificial intelligence,” reveals a student. Many anticipate: “We will choose the current theme, so there are no setlists”.
In the morning, as usual, the traces “leave” the schools. Here they are: Type A (Text analysis)A1: Poetic text by Giuseppe Ungaretti A2: Prose text by Luigi Pirandello. Type B (Argumentative text) B1: “History of Europe” by Giuseppe Galasso. B2: text taken from Maria Agostina Cabiddu in “Aic magazine (Italian Association of Constitutionalists)”. B3: “Rediscovering silence. Art, music, poetry, Nature between listening and communication” by Nicoletta Polla-Mattiot. Type C (Current topic) C1: text taken from Rita Levi Montalcini in “In Praise of Imperfection”. C2: text taken from Maurizio Camilito in “Profiles, selfies and blogs”.
The general director of the regional school office Stefano Suraniti intervened to greet the classrooms of the historic D’Azeglio institute. He went around the classrooms: “Welcome the tracks with a smile and choose based on your dreams and desires. Show off your creativity.” Next to him is the manager Franco Francavilla: “Teso? I’m calm – he says – maybe the students are, but I’m sure they are ready”.
In Piedmont there are a number of defections among exam commissioners, but the high school diploma is safe
by Marta Borghese
June 18, 2024
The tension is understandably felt among the 33 thousand Piedmontese high school graduates, 18 thousand in Turin alone. “I see joy, smile and anxiety – comments Suraniti – but the school has also prepared the kids to manage these emotions: they will face this test like the tests of life. The state exam is a good training ground.” An exam which, he adds, “is adequate, as it is structured now”.
On the tension of young Suranites he reiterates: “Anxiety and difficulties are an important theme that not only concerns the state exam but the approach to daily life. We adults must reflect on how to improve listening skills to encourage young people’s ability to reveal difficulties and find ourselves ready to break down barriers and listen to them.”
It is also an opportunity for Suraniti to remember his maturity achieved in 1997: “I took three disciplines to the oral exam, the third was optional and I chose Italian. Vote? I remember it well, 60 out of 60.”
