“YOU and Your Schoolchild” (Költze & De Donato) - Review by Professor Giovanna della Bella

 “YOU and Your Schoolchild”

The whole truth about school

by Horst Költze and Maria Teresa De Donato

Review by Professor Giovanna della Bella

 

 

The essay by H. Koeltze and M.T. De Donato carries out an in-depth analysis of the education system, including the Italian one, which responds to statistical parameters "imposed" by the OECD.

The experience and training of the two emeritus authors lead the reader on a path that focuses on the negative factors of our school system.

First of all, the economistic spirit of the OECD, which aims to train children as if they were "consumable materials," is considered inhumane. Each pupil, then student, enters the School bringing with them a wealth of experiences, the result of family and environmental experiences, which must be taken into consideration before starting an educational process that shapes the person.

Everyone is willing to learn as long as they learn freely according to their own interest, so the School should put its users at ease without being discriminating or selective.

In my work experience as a teacher, I have been able to personally observe the difficulties and shortcomings of the school system, which has "made an effort" to implement reforms to obtain more targeted objectives for the education of students. But the reality in which the School operates varies, from small towns to metropolitan cities, from North to South; each context offers a different panorama of needs that should be responded to.

Another mention could be of the structures of the buildings in which the institutes are located, which are inadequate. Therefore, the students enter a "prison" where they cannot develop "their full human potential" daily.

After considering all this, how should the teacher carry out his function (which I call mission)? What role should parents play when searching for their children's "best educational offer"?

The authors also formulate adequate proposals for these questions.

Congratulations to Professor Horst Koltze and the multifaceted Maria Teresa De Donato for having produced an essay of high value and significance in which the topic covered was presented with simplicity and essentiality but was intense and full of arguments that encouraged many reflections.

The text is schematic in its typographical form, so the message arrives immediately, which is synthetic and lapidary but full of multiple cultural references and global importance.

I genuinely believe that "YOU AND YOUR SCHOOLCHILD" is a valid writing for parents, teachers, school workers, and leaders, all responsible for the education of young people.

The authors suggest being confident in a revival of the School; we all hope to train citizens who, in the society of tomorrow, can use their skills, acquired freely and not by imposition, to improve and advance not only material but also and above all, human and social well-being.