Genoa, children kneeling at school to write on chairs, desks arrived, but the political battle continues

In the end, at the Mazzini primary school in Genoa, the first 250 desks arrived at lunchtime. Banks commissioned directly by the institute, not those of the ministry that will arrive only in the coming weeks. But even this is not enough to dispel the controversy over the photo of children kneeling on the floor using chairs as desks. “I am receiving many testimonies of solidarity from the families, they have not been simple hours,” he reiterated to Renzo Ronconi, manager of the Castelletto Integral Institute. This image extrapolated from its context is open to interpretation. Indeed there was a lightness that we will verify ». And the director confirms the difficulty of reopening not only because of the desks (400 of the 900 were missing) but also because of the lack of staff.

This morning a new photo of the same school appeared on social networks, posted by the regional councilor for Education and Training Ilaria Cavo. “To all those who wrote that yesterday’s photo was just” fake news “, to those who assured that it was just a game … here’s another photo: always from yesterday, always from Genoa, from the same school, just another class – we read in the post – They too, we asked the didactic director “are they drawing serene in freedom? We hope that, instead of denying the evidence or accusing those who highlighted the problem of exploitation, someone from the Ministry apologizes to the students and parents and that the Minister gives a quick solution ”.

And Minister Lucía Azzolina, also questioned by Governor Giovanni Toti, said: “I think everything should be done except exploiting photos with children, much less for electoral profit.” It all started with the photo taken yesterday by a teacher to show the children’s enthusiasm to the parents who relaunched it on social networks and sent it to the newspapers: in a few hours it became a boomerang for the school that decided to open and a political question. The first post began yesterday afternoon from Governor Giovanni Toti: “Dear Azzolina, these are the students of a Genoese class, who write on their knees because they do not have the desks you promised – Toti published yesterday on Facebook – Our children, teachers and families do not deserve this treatment. An image like this is not worthy of a civilized country like Italy ”. And little help was given by the principal’s clarifications “An ingenuity on the part of a teacher to make her run: she wanted to highlight the work done on the first day of school despite the many difficulties – explained the director of the institute – But it’s wrong and it was seriously exploiting him, exploiting all the children with him, on a day when we had only found great enthusiasm without critical problems ”.
The director of the regional school has opened an internal investigation and meanwhile the political controversies have continued with the candidate in the regional elections of the Five Star Movement Fabio Tosi, who has aligned himself with the Minister of Education. “There are really no words for the inadequacy shown today by the Governor, who on such a delicate, festive and long-awaited day as the first bell exploded a photo and unleashed a vulgar controversy based on fake news.” This was followed by another response through the governor’s social network: “To the grillini and sinister gentlemen who insist that it is a false or artistically created photo, I suggest that you read the statements of the school director who admits and justifies the image”. that you saw saying that it was a game and that the boys were drawing – relaunches the governor – However, on certain occasions it would be enough to apologize. Or it was enough to buy the banks on time. But if those who rule a country lie about this … they are capable of lying about everything. Anyone who lies to cover up a mistake must resign immediately. Italy deserves better ”.