7 times 7

Good evening, my precious and yes, this is your weekly update from what is now the third most badly hitten Country in the world. As I write I’m waiting for numbers to come in, which always happens around 18:30 with the traditional press conference of our Ministry for Civil Defence, but we’re at 124.632 cases. Spain is faring 2nd with 130.759 cases and the United States is flying high, with a grand total of 312.249 cases. Italy is still top of the charts when it comes to the sad record of death tolls, counting 15.362 deaths. I know those two guys. They were my friends.

The Sun is shining, it’s a beautiful Sunday morning, the so-called Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. After my dark update, last week, I’m feeling better. Writing helped me, as usual, to get things out of my system. So here I am again, we’re entering our seventh week of isolation. Day 51, to be exact. I am not talking about complete isolation, those would be the guys in Lodi. Still, it’s a fucking long time. And I am cheerful as a cucumber.

I send a pestilence and plague
Into your house, into your bed
Into your streams, into your streets
Into your drink, into your bread
Upon your cattle, on your sheep
Upon your oxen in your field
Into your dreams, into your sleep
Until you break, until you yield.

(That’s how cheerful I am)

Well, guess what?
We’re not breaking.
Sorry.

Occupying some buildings that were still standing at the old Trade Fair, we built an emergency hospital. In ten days. My compatriots were prompt in praising China when they did the same in eight days. I guess we were just two days too late, as I didn’t see them praising us.
It’s ok.
It doesn’t matter.
As I already said, assholes are showing their nature, these days, and I’m sick and tired of people criticizing their own Country. Especially when they lead with “Italy sucks and this is the reason I left years ago”.
Great.
Stay where you are.
Say good things about the country you choose, if you can.
Because you lost any right to criticize mine.

Sorry.
I know.
I’m ranting.
Again.

Anyway.

How have things been, you ask.
Well, let’s talk about schools.

We are now approaching a date when we’ll have to make a decision about the secondary-school graduation examination, the so-called “exam of maturity”. And we’re starting to cope with the fact that there will probably not be one: what our Ministry of Education is saying is that May 18th will be a crucial decision day. If we won’t be back in class by then (and I don’t think we will), there will be a light examination, only oral tests, probably on-line. Everyone will be admitted. Scoring criteria will be heavily revised. And we’ll call it a year.

Of course, some are preoccupied that we’ll end up giving away graduation titles for free. As if our brave young students were not growing up twice as fast and working twice as hard, in these trying times. These brave young people will be a generation to remember. Never it has been less important to see if they remember when the Siege of Carthage occurred.

Others are stating that this resolution will, and I quote, “mortify who worked hard during the year”. As if kindness and compassion were not important things to learn, these days. As if who worked hard will be deprived of the gained knowledge because we’ll help out those who struggled. As if the school was not tasked to teach moral values, more than the Siege of Carthage. School is not a system for passing judgment. School is a tool we have and serves the purpose to give our youngsters a glimpse of the world. School needs to equip them to face it, but most importantly it needs to give them the instruments to choose their path, a path that will make them happy and fulfilled.

The object of education
is to teach us
to love what is beautiful.

—Plato, “The Republic”

I know it’s difficult to see beauty, right now. I know we’re struggling, as leaders and educators. Ok, I don’t know about you, in truth, but I know I’m struggling. But this is what we need to do. We need to keep our students hungry and curious, we need to kick open those doors that right now seems to be closed.