by Daniela Gasparini
Once summer has arrived, as soon as the children have sung “school is over, a beautiful word…” the “problem” for families arises. Summer represents a critical period for many working parents, forced to deal with school closures every year. In Italy, this school closure period lasts approximately 12 weeks, much longer than the 6/8 weeks expected in Germany, France or the United Kingdom. Even when a couple of parents manage to partially stagger their holidays, they often cannot fully cover this long period of school inactivity.
In addition to educational problem that involves such a long school break for younger children, there is the logistical problem, “oh my God, where do I leave it?”. It therefore becomes essential to find alternative solutions, which range from fostering to grandparents, hiring babysitters and enrolling in summer camps, the latter option being the most sought after by families.
Only in Cinisello Balsamo, i children aged between 0 and 14 years are approx. 9,800 of which 4000 approx. between 0/6 years.
Recently, the Council of Ministers refinanced and increased the funds for the Summer Centers by 2 million euros, allocating a total of 60 million to the Municipalities to support families with this important instrument.
However, the education councilor and the Mayor – despite frequent visits to schools – appear to have underestimated the needs of families and children during the long summer closure period. In fact, it does not appear that concrete projects have been developed to obtain state funding for municipalities to organize summer centers in Cinisello Balsamo, nor does there appear to be any direction from the municipality to guarantee children and adolescents a summer period full of recreational experiences, sporting and educational, with particular attention to those who need more support. A commitment that goes beyond care and that commits the institution to its educational and cultural responsibility, above all to guarantee equal opportunities for all boys and girls.
We must thank the sports associations and organizations that in recent years, together with the speakers, have guaranteed a response to the needs of families and children. But a more active role from the Municipality would be needed to harmonize relationships between parents, school and territory throughout the year.
In the years in which I was councilor for education and then mayor, the summer was characterized by a varied offer: municipal summer centers with professional educators, colonies in Pietra Ligure, weeks in the Corni di Canzo, holidays abroad in Spain or Prague and meetings between teenagers of different nationalities in Cinisello, theater park. Furthermore, there was an educational collaboration with local speakers.
Today, in a context marked by worrying data on juvenile distress, bullying, violence and educational poverty, a new investment in children and adolescents is urgently needed, and the conflict between the administration and parents over the summer centers is a sign that something is wrong! It would be necessary for the mayor and the councilor to open a serious dialogue with parents and school managers to understand how the Municipality can do more and better, while at the same time urging the Government and Parliament to ensure the right resources for the schools and the Municipality, it is necessary guarantee all children a school and educational services adequate for a rapidly evolving social, cultural and technological reality as well as recovering the damages of two years of “reduced” schooling due to the pandemic.
Investing in the future means investing in the education of boys and girls, in schools and helping parents, if we want the worrying decline in births to stop and future young people have the tools to be protagonists and happy.
