Try a new school, in content, method and organization of classroom lessons.
A revolution, a gathering place of modern culture, which gives them energy, leads them to understand who they are and to better compare themselves with others.
And that attracts their interest.
This is what our teenagers want.
Teachings updated and followed by debates, student-teachers together with professors, demonstrations, presentations, doors open to experts on current or interesting topics and new subjects to choose to build one's own educational and cultural path within the school programs (a a bit like what happens in high schools in various European countries).
Gen Z has wide eyes on today and the future and is disappointed by the slow, too slow and far from them movement of the Italian school.
This, in short, is the thought of our kids struggling with their studies but also with extra initiatives in which they feel passionately involved, such as the co-management days underway or just concluded in many Italian high schools.
Initiatives that were popular many years ago, ended up forgotten and have recently been revived in various schools.
Children feel like an active part of the school system and should certainly be more considered.
How would students change school?
ANSA LIFESTYLE asked them
What do they dream?
What would they change?
ANSA LIFESTYLE asked them.
“I would like to try a new school,” explains Stefano, 18 years old.
– Different in content and learning methods.
During the year in our high school, we have the opportunity to get together some afternoons to discuss topics of common interest and in step with the times.
From this small project, baptized 'the workshop of potential knowledge', our co-management took hold, carried out in an experimental way for the first time this year after a long time.
We organized debates on current issues that are talked about little or not at all at school.
We also experienced teachings related to creativity, from drawing to live music and even social activities including meditation and ping pong, which were very crowded.
Teachers and students together to build the lessons, a beautiful experiment to explore a new, more engaging and modern teaching method."
The student concludes: “Co-management, in my opinion, is the seed to try to organize a new school all year round, more current and participatory, in short, a model that should be considered by the school institution as a useful path to modernize it.
We are there to make a contribution both in the subjects and in the method, no longer just made up of vertical teachings but also horizontal ones and based on direct experiences".
“I would like a school with more current teaching programs, with the inclusion of new subjects that individual students can choose, thus building their own personal course of study,” explains Zaynah, 16 years old.
– I imagine frontal lessons followed by discussions, debates, in-depth studies and with the involvement of students.
In my opinion, an interesting way to increase the learning of classical subjects by reinforcing them.
There are also some urgent topics which, if discussed regularly throughout the school year, could be very useful.
I am referring, for example, to sexual and emotional education for boys and girls, how to relate to others and how to defend oneself in the face of abuse, physical and psychological violence.
The school could make a great contribution, as well as being the place of excellence where children of the same generation gather, an undoubtedly positive environment for dialogue between peers.
Organizing spot initiatives, with external experts who explain 'how it works' from above, as sometimes happens in schools, are of little use instead.
I imagine the possibility for everyone to understand, enriching themselves through comparison and experience”.
“It seems like the world moves indifferent to us kids.
Schools are limping, instead they must be preserved, improved and enriched because they take charge of our lives for many years - replies Valerio, 17 years old - I think of a more modern place, with updated subjects and completed by new experiences, shared with us to make us feel like they are part of the community and also learn from direct experience.
So aim to improve learning because not all of us have the same abilities and also to attract the attention and participation of students who experience difficult situations outside the walls of their school."
“We would like a school open for longer, beyond lesson times - underlines Chiara, 16 years old.
- I don't know how many would stop.
However, I am sure that it could become a place of aggregation and culture for many who are not fortunate enough to carry out other afternoon activities, including being able to study in a favorable environment and not alone and away from many distractions".
According to Miur data on online registrations collected for 2022/2023, technical and professional institutes were chosen by 30.7% and 12.7% of boys and girls respectively.
High schools, with their different courses, remain in the lead in preferences, chosen by 56.6% of newly enrolled men and women, but suffer a slight decline: a year ago 57.8% of young people preferred a high school course, this year are 56.6%.
26% of enrollments go to scientific high schools.
The Classic attracts a small segment of teenagers which goes from 6.5% last year to 6.2%.
7.4% chose linguistics (8.4% a year ago).
The Human Sciences high school grew, from 9.7% to 10.3% and the Arts high school, from 5.1% to 5.5%.
The European and International high schools (0.5%) and the musical and dance high schools (0.7%) are stable.
Technical institutes rise to 30.7% of choices, from 30.3% a year ago.
Interest in professional institutes grew by almost one point, from 11.9% to 12.7%.
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