The Minister of Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara, has announced an update of the Italian major school curriculum: a new vision of civic education. This initiative, contained in the New Guidelines of the Ministry, aims to strengthen the teaching of certain values, such as the sense of belonging to the homeland, the values of the Constitution, the fight against illegality. As Valditara himself recalls, the 2019 law already provides for the teaching of civic education in schools, but the current administration has decided to go beyond the previous guidelines, established by former Minister Azzolina, to introduce an approach that better values constitutional principles. “The importance of educating young people to become aware of their belonging to a national community with a specific history and values is fundamental,” Valditara told Messenger. “Patriotism has been neglected in recent decades due to ideological prejudices. It is not nationalism, it is an awareness of who we are today and our past, to build a common future.” All this translates into 33 hours per year of civic education in the different disciplines and a grade is required as for the other subjects.
“Bullying? Individual responsibility, not social”
A crucial element of the new program is the fight against bullying, which, Valditara emphasizes, must be addressed first in families and then in schools. “Bullying must be combated by making students responsible, through conduct notes and teaching respect for each person, rules and public and private property,” the minister stressed in an interview with Mario Ajello. Valditara then reiterated the importance of promoting individual responsibility rather than social responsibility. “For example, if the bully attacks a teacher or harasses a classmate, these attitudes are not the fault of society but there is individual responsibility.”
Are we going back?
Asked whether the homeland, duties, responsibilities risk wanting to bring the school back to a conservative system, Valditara replies: “There are rights and alongside rights there are also duties. Without duties, rights cannot be effective. We do not carry out ideological operations.” In short, for Valditara, the new approach aims to build a “constitutional” school in its integrity. Civic education then includes topics such as environmental protection, respect for women, the conscious use of new technologies, nutrition, road and financial education, as well as the importance of sport. “We want to instill a culture of 360-degree legality, fighting not only against political and economic crime, but also against crime that threatens the daily security of citizens,” the minister said.
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