The pedagogist Daniele Novara: « No in the electronic register, the school becomes a place of correction and not of learning »

Last month of school for Italian children, the last month to recover insufficiencies and hope for a nice report card. However, recovery is not always ensured because, despite the commitment and maybe a few eight full eight, The low votes taken at the beginning of the quarter or pentamestre can « stain » the final judgment indelible, undermining self -esteem and the motivation of the pupils who have committed themselves. To attract the attention of parents and teachers on what is a much more delicate problem than it is believed is Daniele Novara, pedagogist and author of numerous best sellersincluding the last « Spring! Educate teenage children and find the right distance to make them grow up « (Rizzoli), which firmly focuses on the finger at the electronic register. Why can this tool used to write down the evaluations can be harmful? « Why Educating does not mean checking, but promoting processes of learning. At school we go to learn, it is not a place of expiations of behaviors or straightening. When an instrument is introduced, of which, among other things, no one manages to understand the genesis, used by parents to control their children, there is a risk of emphasize school as a place of correction and not of learning».

Media mathematics

The electronic register is a sort of student’s identity cardbecause it contains its absences, delays, exits, disciplinary notes and votes, whose average at the end of the year establishes the judgment on the report card. « What a sense has an evaluation on the basis of the numerical average that puts together votes taken from a pupil months earlierat the beginning of his learning, when it was completely normal to be able to jam, make mistakes, to linger in some mistakes? I believe that giving votes on the medium mathematical represents a real violation of the right of children and girls, boys and girls to have a fair evaluation and responding to reality».

New evaluation

Where there are no numerical votes, that is, to primary, it is impossible to do the average. This year, however, a report card arrives for the elementary schools with a new evaluation: The descriptive judgments (advanced, intermediate, base and in the process of first acquisition) to return to the 5 synthetic judgments (excellent, good, discrete, sufficient and not sufficient) are. « The more there are votes, the more discretionary and intrusive judgment – continues the expert -. We managed with very strong protests to prevent it from going severely insufficientwho would have affected the motivation of pupils who are 6, 7 or 8 years old ».

Progress and errors

What can be the right way to evaluate the students? « An evolutionary assessment based on progress must be activated and which considers errors a physiological element of learningnot a judgment, because making mistakes allows you to learn. Obviously, the starting points of each pupil must be understood at the beginning of the school year, especially since Today 30% of Italian students are of foreign origin», Continues Novara. Do you give a great responsibility to teachers? «Mine are indications, but any teacher can use them, evaluating on the basis of progress and not mistakes. It substantially depends on the teachers, on the class councilpossibly by the Teaching Board and School Autonomy. For example, there were schools that eliminated votes and rejection. School autonomy leaves room for maneuvers, but first of all freedom of teaching».

Excess of homework

The new circular of the Minister of Education Giuseppe Valditara invites a reduce too many checks on the same day and tasks inserted to the last From teachers in the electronic register, what do you think? « I have always taken positions against the excesses of homework that, first of all, to the elementary school should not be given and that there are too many secondary – declares the pedagogist -. The school cannot ruin the social life of our children and then complain that they spend time in front of the video games. If you are at school six hours a day at secondary, six hours are more than enough to do everything. At home at most you can do the duties of reality, that is to go to see an exhibition, create a drawing in the open area or visit a lesser known area of ​​your citywho deepen what the boy is learning. Repeating, however, at home what is done at school is a defeat for the school and an inconvenience truly higher than the resources of our poor kids, increasingly closed at home ».

Insufficiencies and rejection

In just over a month they will receive the report card. How parents must behave in front of any insufficiencies? «First of all you have to punish them, because they have already been abundantly points. Second, I always recommend, after a rejection, to change schoolto avoid prejudices and labels and, especially, to avoid the risk of feeding in teachers the idea they did the right thing. And, for a sort of consistency syndrome, they could reject it again ». Finally it is important exploit the summer to « make good experiences, especially socialto learn something and to stay in contact with nature. It’s a wonderful age.  »