Merit, commitment, talent. These are the pillars that the Minister of Education and (precisely) Merit, Giuseppe Valditara, poses as the foundation of the work asked of him in this government led by the center right. “The school of talents”: this is the type of educational establishment that he intends to build until he is called to lead the Viale Trastevere department. This is how he decided to give a title to his latest book, published by Piemme. On the other hand, the choice to immediately change the name of the department, from Ministry of Education to Ministry of Education and Merit, was the first unequivocal sign of this orientation. A passage which, however, proved indigestible for many. Part of the school feared that we were about to chart a path that would lead to a new system in which the school would favor the valorization or – to put it in an even more peremptory tone – the “selection” of the best and the most capable, thus undermining the principle of equality that education should promote. Educators jumped on their chairs: half a century of studies in favor of a flexible and adequate approach to the training needs and the educational and psychosocial needs of each student cannot be summarized so easily in the concept of merit. Especially considering that merit defines education, not the other way around.
Merit = commitment?
But we know: governing means (also) making compromises. In this case: with political forces, state finances, unions, the voices of those who attend school every day and – especially if we talk about merit – with the country's inequalities and the gap which remains between the North and the South. A gap, the latter, on which Valditara tried to intervene. And he also remembers it between the lines of his manuscript: with a ministerial decree of August 30, 2023 (n. 176), he gave life to the Southern Agenda, a government plan aimed at combating school dropout in public primary and secondary schools in the Abruzzo regions. , Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily. Despite the criticism which, as usual in every government and ministry, constantly arrives, Valditara stayed the course: “My idea of school is based on commitment, merit must be expressed in these terms”. But what merit is Valditara talking about? He attempted to explain it several times, although he always left an aura of ambiguity and generated skepticism on the issue. He therefore decided to clarify it in his book where, after recalling some historical passages which had an impact on the transformations of the school, the minister analyzes the vices and virtues of the current Italian educational institution.
A tailor-made school
“Merit consists of bringing out one’s talents and abilities,” writes the minister between the pages of his book. An operation in which the school must be the protagonist and which, quoting Socrates, must therefore carry out – explains Valditara himself – “a maieutic action”. Value and guide the potential of students, who “are solicited in exchange for commitment, diligence, perseverance and responsibility”. A “tailor-made” school, believes the minister. But – he specifies – “not elitist”. Like, how? For example, with the introduction of the tutor teacher and the guidance teacher who arrived within the walls of the Italian school in December 2022. However, it must be remembered that this is again an operation which is not was not unanimous in the educational world, the unions accusing it of being “divisible in the unity and organization of the teaching staff and the entire educational community”. “.
Mental Health? “School is not a clinic”
“The culture of the forbidden, the rejection of the notion of discipline, the weakening of the fear of sanction, the annihilation of the principle of authority, an increasingly individualistic society”. These are just some of the aspects that, according to Valditara, have crept into contemporary times, causing the proliferation of deviant behavior among young people. The answer, according to him, is not “a certain educational well-being” which aims to “eliminate evaluations”, but the restoration of the “culture of respect”, where legality reigns supreme. In this regard, he wishes to provide a clarification, which also seems to be a response to the protests and occupations of students who have been demanding for months greater attention to their psychological well-being, victim – citing their recent press releases – “an environment too competitive which rewards merit, forgetting the stress and anxiety that are increasingly prevalent in the school environment.” The minister does not mince his words and responds: “The school is neither a hospital nor a clinic. He is not responsible for carrying out psychological treatments. The school instructs and educates. Rather, its mission is to report cases of distress or critical behavior to families. » For this reason, he adds, “it is appropriate that each provincial school directorate has a psychological office serving the school and the students.”
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