Diario di un maestro (1973–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Episode #1.4 - full transcript
DIARY OF A TEACHER
Loosely adapted from the novel
"A year in Pietralata."
Interpreted by children and inhabitants
of the Roman villages
of Tiburtino Terzo, Pietralata
and La Torraccia.
Pay attention for a moment, boys.
We have collected a lot of material.
And I have to say I'm happy
because you all did a good job.
Some have brought a story
written by their fathers.
Others wrote the stories their
fathers were telling them.
What does this mean? This means that
your parents, in this topic of history,
Have joined the classroom,
with the roles of teachers.
And this is a nice thing, right?
That every family contributed
to this lesson of history.
And we have so much material,
we could even write a book.
Our own history book.
- A journal.
- Yes, a journal.
- And we can sell it.
- We can then sell it.
This means we have to--
I think we can--
We have to confirm this later but,
We can isolate two chapters,
using all of this material.
From one side, we have
the war stories. Right?
Of imprisonment, for example,
Sergio Valente's father.
The other part could be instead,
about the discomfort, the misery,
The hunger that they experienced,
meaning they weren't in the front,
But rather they were left behind
in the cities.
During the Second World War,
what happened?
The ratio between military casualties
and civilian casualties,
Was increased because
of the civilian casualties.
Because of the bombings, the hunger,
the illnesses, the misery.
I'd like to give you an example
of what you wrote.
Of the two parts in which
we could divide this material.
There's Sacco's father, that tells us
he did not participate in the war,
He says he was young,
but he doesn't tell us how old he was.
"My father was a very lively child."
"He often played with
the Germans in pretend-war."
"They gave him an empty rifle
and they would then hide."
"All the while my father
pretended to shoot,"
"My uncles would then jump inside
the trucks, and steal something to eat."
"Before the departure, a German sergeant
wants to gift him a Christmas tree,"
"Decorated with starry sparkliners."
He wrote "sparkliners".
Later, when we spell-check we will
see if this is the correct term.
And this was also seen in Sicily,
before the Allies disembarked.
Now a segment from Romano's text.
"This is the telling of what
my mother experienced around 1943,"
"When she was in the Cassino front."
"Six months of bombings, night and day,
of sacrifice, of fear and hunger,"
"After a few days my father fell ill
as well, no doctors, no medicine."
"We were forced to abandon our house
and leave for the countryside."
"There, we built a hut
covered with trees and branches."
"We had to keep on hiding, and only went
outside to find herbs for us to eat."
The front of Montecassino
was a very important moment,
but also a dramatic one,
in the history of Italy.
Now we have Valente's text, it reads:
"My father, in times of war,
left to fight in Albania."
"But after a short while
he was captured by the Nazis,"
"And he was taken into a
concentration camp in Germany."
Here we have two elements
in just this few lines.
Captivity, concentration camps--
And before that, Albania,
the war against Greece...
You see how much
work we have to do?
Now we have to segment it
and give it some organization.
First, I'd like to hang
the map of Europe.
- Hang it right there.
- Do you need a hand, professor?
I just need a chair.
Should I get the stapler?
No, there's a nail right here.
Is it low enough?
Can you all see it?
Is that OK?
We'll never reach those
northern countries.
There's Yugoslavia.
From Rome, you have to
go all the way around.
"Resting home."
We thought it was important to go back
at least until the First World War.
The grand-father of Marco Speranza,
who fought in the Great War,
Told us about the things
he remembered.
So, then what happened?
From the Ciabbatino tunnel, they made us
exit towards a portable bridge,
That traversed the Isonzo river.
And we crossed through it,
because at Montesanto,
There weren't any roads,
there was no highway,
But there were miners, that carved
tunnels that went inside the hills,
Near the road to--
Near Isonzo, right by the street.
They carved these tunnels--
And right around--
Around mid-August, of 1917, the 13th,
they made us cross that bridge.
And they made us go through these
tunnels they had made.
We walked up to the top of Montesanto,
but when we got there,
The enemy soldiers were already armed
with cannons, at the top of the hill.
But, from the side of Mount Sabotino,
our artillery was firing back at them.
- But you were covered there?
- What's that?
- You had some kind of protection.
- No, we didn't have anything.
- We were inside the tunnels.
- Yes, but--
If your friends were firing towards
the hill, you had some protection.
What protection?
Was there hunger, during the war?
Hunger? No, maybe in the streets, but at
Sabotino and Santo we had plenty to eat.
- This one day--
- What was your impression of the war?
- What's that?
- What was your impression of war?
What impression? I was afraid!
One time at Col di Lana,
when I was sent there...
We had to walk up to the hills
and down the roads,
I had to eat all of the rations, and
when I got there I couldn't eat anymore.
Fear!
I heard cannons being shot!
I had never heard firing before,
other than the fireworks in Rome.
I didn't know about cannons, who ever
participated in war? Not me!
What does it represent?
When Mussolini declared war.
- So, this is Piazza Venezia?
- Yes
- Why did you do it entirely in black?
- Because they were fascists.
Move this a bit to the right.
- Can I paint the outline?
- Yes.
This is your father's entire itinerary?
Explain it to me.
From Rome, he left to Tivoli,
to the garrison.
From Tivoli, they went to Brindisi.
Here, they took the "Prince of Piedmont"
ship, which clashed against the English.
They reached Valona, and from there they
moved to a city that I couldn't find.
"THE WAR OF FRANCO'S FATHER."
How long did it take
for him? From Rome--
- Teacher!
- Was he in Rome in 1943 or 1945?
So then, write below: "1940..."
And the date he arrived.
These arrows show
the Italian Army and it's movements.
They arrived up until this point,
Sidi Barrani, I think.
So then at Suez he was turned into a
prisoner, and then moved into India.
Highlight it, ask your mother if
she remembers where he was imprisoned.
- OK?
- Yes.
- Teacher!
- Luciano, do you have a pen?
Stefano, could you please come
so we can correct your work?
I just have the draft,
I need to correct it.
"Unknown if dead or alive."
So he is missing?
I don't know.
My grand-father didn't receive
any information about him.
We call that a "missing person", when
you don't receive any news about them.
He was considered missing in Russia.
I don't know, that's what
my mother was telling me--
We realized that we had the entire
Second World War as told by Italians.
Sergio's father in
Greece and Yugoslavia.
Stefano's grand-father that
disappeared in Russia.
The mothers of Franco and Romano mixed
into the hellish battle of Cassino.
Two uncles of Luciano, that were
killed in the Ardeatine massacre.
And all of the families victim of
the bombings and the hunger.
What's missing? How can it be missing?
The Ardeatine caves, right after.
The armistice, right here...
There you go.
The Allied invasion in 1943. It would be
important if you found the day as well.
Meaning, did you read before or
after September 8th?
Do you know what happened
in September 8th?
Do you remember?
- The Armistice
- There you go.
It was a surprise for them, to find the
lives of their parents inside the books.
They studied with pleasure, even if the
books were written for older students.
- Oh, that one!
- Here, can you find it yourself?
From the headlines, we moved to history.
The transition was easy and spontaneous.
Here, the Ardeatine caves,
we have a photographic argument.
But these, they were already dead.
- They're underground.
- This thing is covering them up.
I have a book that says many civilians
were killed in Russia.
Find what it says-- What I wrote
about the Ardeatine caves.
The period regarding
the Ardeatine caves.
- Is it good?
- Yes, this is the...
When the Germans arrived
at Tiburtino.
- This one as well.
- That's good.
Without the "h" at the end.
Its pronounced "Gering"
"The Germans retreated,
in a couple of months..."
"They abandoned everything."
"And not much later, we found out that
the Neo-Zealanders had arrived."
"We were ran towards them."
That's the same mistake as before.
- "We ran."
- Exactly, "We ran towards them."
- "As we got closer..."
- With just one "c".
"As we got closer..."
Good work.
"We are hungry, and they
gave us a loaf of bread."
- "And as we enjoyed..."
- "We ran."
"We ran towards our families."
"And they didn't--"
What?
Oh, it was the family that didn't
believe they gifted something to eat.
We could write: "They couldn't believe
they had given us a loaf of bread."
Our family--
No one? How can we say...?
"No one could believe that
they had gifted us a loaf of bread."
"I showed the piece of white bread, and
we happily walked towards our home."
"And this way, our long sacrifice of
fear and hunger had ended."
"I thank God."
This ending is very beautiful.
This is the paper, I already gave you
the index, try not to stain them.
Come here, I'll show you
how to build the index.
The title of the chapters in upper case.
"News coming from..."
In upper case.
Professor, can you correct this paper?
This is the schematic,
now I'll give you--
Professor, can I have the pushpins?
Remember that the first page
needs a lot of ink because--
I'm done, I have to print this now?
Look, put it in the folder...
To print it out.
Is the grammar OK?
Shouldn't it be "Page..."?
- Yes, cancel out the other "Pa..."
- I'm done.
I finished.
Good, now you can put the index
inside the printing folder.
Take this.
We still have work to do.
- Where should we hang it?
- Right here.
Don't step on the copies.
Have you finished as well?
"V - Do not kill."
Why don't we oughta use
"5th - Do not kill" as the title?
- You shouldn't say "oughta"
- Come on.
"5th - Do not kill",
as the title for the journal?
That's not bad...
Boys! As the title for the journal Marco
Veneto proposed "5th - Do not Kill."
What about "A suffered war."?
Luciano Del Croce proposes
"A suffered war."
"The war of our fathers."
Let's see who wants "5th - Do not Kill",
raise you hand.
It's better!
I'll raise it too.
OK then, "5th - Do not kill."
That's perfect.
Piazza? Brings this over to Fabrizio.
Try to balance it out,
give it to Munzi.
Place the white papers
in the center of the table.
Boys, remember to make
three holes for the journal.
One in the center,
and two on the sides.
These orange covers are really nice.
- Professor!
- What's wrong?
The section about Palermo has run out.
Palermo has run out?
Stop before you reach Palermo.
So far, we have 50.
Now that they have studied the most
absurd of violence, the war,
And that they have titled
their journal: "5th - Do not kill.",
I thought about making them
read some passages from the Bible.
I wanted them to hear
the teachings of Jesus.
Like a testimony.
This passage is called:
"Love your enemies, and pray for them."
"An eye for an eye,
a tooth for a tooth."
"But I say unto you,
That ye resist not evil."
"But whosoever shall smite thee on thy
right cheek turn to him the other also."
"And if anyone wants to sue you
and take your shirt;"
"Hand over your coat as well."
"If anyone forces you to go one mile,
go with them two miles."
Who here wants to explain
to me the meaning of this passage?
To love our enemies.
If someone kills you, you love them.
But the book is badly written,
because it says;
"If someone slaps you,
give them the other cheek also."
You'd have to be very stupid!
Piazza, if someone slaps you,
what would you do?
I beat them up.
- Me, I'd kick them.
- Munzi, what do you say?
I think it has to do
with instinct, you see.
If I kick him, he will feel it in his
heart the need to react.
Because he's not just going to stand
there, that would be acting dumb.
If someone slaps you with any
reason, you instinctively--
But no one would
slap you without a reason!
The concept that Munzi is explaining is
that, if you don't react you are stupid.
Does that seem fair to you?
Imagine someone threatens a woman
in the street, and you just ignore it.
Then, she is going to
gather other people.
OK, let's leave people
and the street alone.
I wanted to ask you, do you think a
person can argue with themselves?
- No!
- They always need someone to argue.
At least two people.
Then, if one of the two does not want
to fight, then what happens?
The other one will beat them up,
because they acted like fools!
You for example, has any of you
managed to avoid a confrontation?
- I did.
- Let's listen to Marco.
One day, I was bathing
in the river bank.
There was a boy there that took my pants
and he was going to throw them in.
Just a small piece. So I said: "Try and
do it again. Do it again."
So he just threw them at me
and he left.
You see? Arguments can be avoided,
that is what I'm trying to say.
We have seen that one of the
methods used by men
To solve problems,
is war.
Or even violence in general.
- The other method we talked about--
- A preach?
No, how can we call it?
- This protest.
- Peaceful! Non-violence!
- A peaceful revolution.
- There you go, non-violence.
There are two methods;
Violence, and non-violence.
Like a hunger strike.
Do you really think that,
even in our own--
Because we don't have to
always think in abstract terms.
Or only talking about war.
Since we have established there is also
violence in class, at Tiburtino...
Do you think it is feasible?
This form of non-violence?
Even between us?
Yes, but everyone has to do it.
We have to make the others understand.
Some might understand later.
We need a law by the state.
The state says not to steal, and yet
look at how many thieves there are.
Why do you need
a law by the state?
Otherwise,
how will they understand?
I'm saying, in order to spread the news.
But how--
Fabrizio, what did you say?
When Gandhi started, did you see
how many people followed him?
The students, the teachers.
Plenty of them!
We have established
that we are all violent.
Everyone here has to make an effort
in order to stop being violent.
You, Sergio, for example.
I might also be wrong.
But I think that you, in class,
were one of the most violent students.
For example, do you feel like making
a promise, as a test? Just 15 days.
To avoid arguments.
Do you want to make that
promise in front of the class?
Yes.
Boys, who else wants to
commit, just like Sergio?
I do! I do!
Who wants to take this
15 day trial?
- I do.
- Now everyone wants to.
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight, nine people.
Maybe I didn't say it before but the
trial also applies outside of school.
No!
If someone wants to beat you up,
then what do you do?
If someone comes up at school, and
punches you, and you don't react...
- Someone just punches you immediately?
- Yes, if you bother them--
If you bother them, but that also means
not looking for trouble, right?
It implies you shouldn't force
someone else into a fight.
Right, Mennuni? This is also important.
Not only you shouldn't react, but you
should also avoid provoking them.
Sergio, let's say--
Let's ignore the 15 days, just
start doing the test.
Because the boys in my block
always gather to bother us.
And I can't handle not reacting.
Anyhow, Sergio told me he was going
to do it, shall we shake hands, Sergio?
- Me too, professor.
- Shall we try? Romano as well.
- Not me.
- You, not yet.
- You too? You too?
- Yes, I will.
- Who will resist not being violent?
- I will!
This counts outside of the
classroom too, OK?
OK, you too?
Sacco, why did you
put your hand down?
- You won't take the commitment?
- In any case, it doesn't matter...
- What do you mean it doesn't matter?
- For a guy like him...
What do you know,
maybe he is violent at home.
- At home!
- Exactly.
To talk about non-violence
to these kids,
That breathe violence ever
since they came into the world,
It's not easy.
Unfortunately, we don't
have much time.
If I had them for the first five years,
this would've been a different story.
But I'm not sorry for trying.
It was a first step.
I'm afraid for Giancarlo,
I'm afraid that I've lost him.
Grab some garlic!
Make yourself a meal!
Grab some garlic here!
Four pieces for 100 lire.
Four pieces for 100 lire.
Very cheap!
Remo told me a while ago that
he wanted me to meet him, at work.
Today, he was selling
garlic at Piazza Ungheria.
Lady, just 100 lire.
The good garlic!
Fresh, and good garlic!
Here madam, four heads, 100 lire,
The good garlic!
May I offer you some, madam?
100 lire, do you want to buy them?
It's a good price.
Best garlic there is.
How much did you profit today?
I don't know, let's see.
- Quite a profit.
- Yes.
Remo crudely brought me back
to the immediate future of these boys.
Soon to be thrown in the working world,
unknown to them, unable to be protected.
So far we have about 1500...
1700... 1900.
3000, 3300, 3450...
- 4790 lire.
- It was a good day, right?
- You could say that.
- Is everyday like this?
Well, it depends.
It changes from day to day.
- Because it's a Saturday afternoon.
- Of course, people get the supplies.
The time is running out,
we have two months until the exams.
And soon, the majority of them,
will start to work too.
This way, I proposed a further survey
in the world of work among their peers.
In their own block.
What's your profession?
Tire repair?
- How much do you earn per week?
- Two thousand; lire.
Two thousand?
No, put it up in the section
of "Torre Maura".
Did he ever attend school?
Did you ask him?
No, but I think he has a kid.
You see him?
Sergio! This is not part
of San Basilio.
This first division you made between
blocks can already give us results.
Look for example at Torraccia,
there are many boys that work there.
And how many inhabitants are there?
Around five hundred, maybe?
Meanwhile, here at Tiburtina
and Monte Pecoraro,
Where the population is much bigger
at around five or six thousand people,
There are less children working.
What does this make you think?
This first separation.
They live in the slums,
they have fewer possibilities.
There is a greater need for work
because they are poorer.
Besides this neighborhood division,
we can make another one.
We can divide the boys that work
considering the job, or the profit.
Or we could use a schematic, which
I have already drawn, to see the ages.
For example, let's see
between seven and fourteen years old.
Let's see how many boys work
at Torraccia, at Tiburtina and so on.
- Who wants to write for me?
- I do!
The principal is here.
We're working on--
Boys, the principal is here!
What are you boys doing?
Would you like to see
the work we've just done?
Show your work to the principal.
We have pictures of Tiburtino.
Look at how pretty this photograph is!
This is the square, this is Torraccia.
- We drew all of our neighborhood
- The boys did everything.
This is our camera.
We also built a library.
How do you like it?
Just a moment, boys.
Would you like to see our essay?
Let's go over there!
- We made this.
- What are these "bad-beats"?
- It's a term they coined.
- The contrary to high-class people.
We use to describe people
that are doing bad.
Be careful with this, boys!
We spent all of the money in the box.
- We spent it all.
- What is this box?
It's the classroom box, each student
brought coins everyday.
We had to spend it in the pictures
and the printing copies.
- And we had to buy the camera too!
- Put it back now.
- Can we continue?
- Yes, continue.
Pass me those designs.
I wanted to explain a bit.
We did this in a group,
but without competitiveness.
I think the finished work
provided great results.
Look at this particularity, there
is a likeness in the style.
Not only that but, thanks to
these artworks,
The boys have started to learn
how to read the painting.
To distinguish which details
are better than others.
- The why.
- I understand.
They don't restrain themselves saying:
"I like this, I don't like this."
Principal, we also
made a small journal.
Yes, this research gave
life to this small journal.
About this journal...
This last one, you have received it
because we sent it to you.
- About the Second World War.
- We can talk about this later on.
Now, I wanted to say
something else.
As the acting principal,
I felt that it was necessary
for me to visit the class.
The final tests of the year
are approaching.
I will be part of the commission,
And I thought it would be good for them
if I asked a few questions.
Of course, would you like
to start asking?
- Tell them to sit down.
- Professor, we have finished our work.
Boys, take a seat.
Seat down, the principal
would like to ask you some questions.
Help me clean the table.
We moved the desk
because I never use it.
Please, have a seat.
Alright boys, pay attention.
So, let's have some questions going.
Kindly, let's grab the
reading books.
- Who can get those for me?
- I can!
Here we are.
Open it at page 19,
page 19 on your reading books.
You, read page 19.
- Standing up?
- Yes, always standing up.
(Reads Pascoli's Return of Columbus)
"Land! ...Nocturnal and suddenly--"
Hold it. Start over.
Read it slowly.
And try to understand what
it is you are reading.
"Land! ...Nocturnal and suddenly,
a voice from the crow's nest"
"Wear the scarlet cloak,
raise the banner and the cross,"
"You, who steered--
Steered the bow to the p--
"To the pale twilight."
Do you understand what you
are reading, or not?
- What are you reading?
- A poetry.
- And what is the poetry about?
- It's about land.
Which land?
Is there someone that
can read better than this?
- You, come here.
- Me?
"Land! ...Nocturnal and suddenly,
a voice from the crow's nest"
"Wear the scarlet cloak,
raise the banner and the cross,"
"You, who steered the bow
to the pale twilight and dawn."
What does twilight mean?
I don't know.
How can you read without
knowing the meaning of the words?
Can anyone else answer?
You, come here.
What does twilight mean?
Let's skip this since the words
are somewhat special and difficult.
It's also logical that they are
not inside your comprehension.
But, what is the general
sense of the poetry?
What does it make you feel?
What does it explain?
These are the feelings of a man that
has spotted land in a very long time.
What land is he watching,
and who is this man?
Go back to your seat,
you, come here,
Who is this man?
Christopher Columbus.
And what did he discover?
He discovered...
America.
But did he know that he
had arrived in America?
It seems that we are
in the wrong track, professor.
Let's hear someone else.
You, come here.
Let's look at the grammatical
analysis of this poem.
Let's see.
"Raises", what is that word?
- A verb.
- Good.
- What else?
- The verb "to raise".
Shut! When you had to talk, you were
quiet. Now you talk.
This is not an appropriate
attitude for the classroom.
Come here, you.
"Scarlet."
First of all, what does it mean?
Go back to your seat.
Seems to me that they are not ready
for the grammatical analysis, professor.
We didn't have the time, we had
to do so many other things.
But no time for this one.
You, in which year does
Italy unify?
Does anyone know the answer?
One at a time!
- 1860.
- Good.
Piazza, come here.
Who were the authors of the unification,
this glorious period of Italian history?
We haven't dealt with the unification.
Luciano, did you want to say...?
Principal, we know
plenty about the Second World War.
And not the unification.
For now, we studied the wars,
in particular the Second one.
It seemed better
to go in chronological order.
Anyhow, this is it...
At least, the fundamental
characteristics.
Garibaldi, do you know who that is?
- A general.
- And what did he do?
When does he say:
"I obey!" ?
- Bonini would like to answer.
- Come here.
You can go back now.
Who were the great authors
of the unification?
Mazzini and Garibaldi.
- And then?
- Cavour!
And?
- Victor-Emmanuel.
- Victor-Emmanuel, what?
The second.
And what did they do?
(In Roman accent)
They tried to find any way to--
- To unite Italy.
- Does that sound like proper Italian?
(Struggling in Italian)
They used any opportunity to--
- To make a united Italy.
- I understand.
Try to express yourself
more clearly.
Hold it.
You can go now.
- Thank you.
- Goodbye.
See you soon, professor.
You should stay with me
for a moment.
They are late these boys, very late,
and I'm sorry I have to say this.
Not even an element or principle
of the grammatical analysis.
And then you have geography,
history, arithmetic...
I ask you, what have
you done with all of this time?
Sure, you made this thing here,
and it might even be pretty,
But I ask myself, what does
any of this have to do with school?
This is our research on child labor.
If you let me explain--
No, I understand, the boys were running
around, taking pictures of the town.
This will have consequences,
you already had complains before.
- But, why?
- We'll talk about it later.
Oh, you're here? I couldn't find you,
I thought you had already left.
Good morning, should I wait
for you in the office?
No, please, come in.
You're just in time.
I was talking to professor D'Angelo
about interrogating the class.
It was a disaster.
The reading and supplementary
books were tossed aside.
And we have to interfere, we have to do
anything, absolutely.
- I understand.
- I don't.
I truly don't understand.
I have tried to explain the situation
to professor D'Angelo before he arrived.
If you remember our first meeting,
I tried to put you on alert.
I told him to do
whatever he can.
- Raise their morale.
- And so?
But you, ever since the first day,
you don't want to listen to anyone.
As if we were here to slow you
down, or to harm your teaching.
And not to advice you, help you--
One moment, miss, excuse me.
Are you implying that they are not ready
because I decided to teach on my own?
No, I did not imply that.
So that means the students are no longer
"leftovers" as you called them before.
They are just ill-prepared,
and I'm the one to blame.
Let me explain, this is not what--
Excuse me a moment.
I'd like to show you a text the boys
wrote the very next day I got here.
Here, I'll grab one randomly:
"My family."
"My family is composed of
four members,
"My father, my brother and myself."
He even forgot about his mother.
Please consider the spelling, the
punctuation, the dryness of the text.
But this was a known problem...
Then, what was I supposed to do?
Change them, from one side to the other?
Look, we are not saying
these boys were prepared.
- Thank God.
- Don't interrupt me.
We are saying that maybe
you didn't do your best
In order to prepare the boys for their
junior certification in a few months.
I didn't do my best?
Ever since I got here,
we have worked every single day.
And for starters, all of the boys
attended class, all of them.
In less than three months,
we made...
After researching the home...
Come, Miss Olivieri,
you haven't seen these.
Three collective drawings,
a grouping.
Just look at the amount of content!
About everything; Crime,
housing, their neighborhood...
Look at the work.
And we made a huge effort.
The boys stayed here until 7 PM,
bringing sandwiches to avoid pausing.
And it's evident that, while working, we
did operations, calculus and the like.
I didn't even mention the
two journals we created.
You received them,
one dealing with the home,
And the other, an essay about the
Second World War, 43 pages!
The boys, and this is important, they
expressed themselves, they spoke.
They were united,
they worked united.
Excuse me but, perhaps
I didn't explain myself clearly.
You asked me, what does all of
this have to do with school?
Is this not Italian, Geography,
History, all in one?
Excuse me, I am not
attacking your methods,
I am under the impression that,
because of your enthusiasm,
In your lack of experience,
You lost track, influenced by
these "new techniques".
You lost sight about what the
school really is about.
Teaching, learning...
And, well I don't know,
if we really want to say everything...
Excuse me, principal...
In these journals...
This one, for example.
"Remo's father."
"Franco's father."
These reports, these stories,
however you want to call them...
The parents wrote these,
and not the boys.
Do you really think the parents know
how to write better than their children?
Sure, in some cases, the boys
only transcribed the stories.
But they typed, they printed,
they corrected...
Are these not language exercises?
Is this not work?
Their parents have probably never
read a book about the Second World War.
But they did read this one, because it's
their own stories, in their own words!
That boy, the one
you questioned before,
The same one that did the
family essay in three lines.
Look, look how much he wrote,
how much effort he made.
Slowly, he began to
reconquer his own family,
He started to learn from it,
to identify the family.
Fine, let's say that
it was legitimate...
This choice to teach
social topics given the context.
Let's allow it.
But I wonder, couldn't you have made
some kind of schedule in the mean time?
What do you mean?
- I respected the schedule.
- What?
I can't remember the exact words,
But the schedule rejects chronological
and systematic learning.
And furthermore, it highlights
a continuous and precise knowledge
About the external environment.
- We can check, if you want to.
- No, no, don't mind!
I am very familiar
with the program.
The external environment!
Do you understand?
For professor D'Angelo, the external
environment is this!
- I didn't say that.
- And so, at the end of the year,
We'll have a class full of sociologists,
of urbanists and economists!
But nevertheless, they won't be able to
distinguish a noun from an adjective!
If that's the case, the schedule also
talks about grammatical analysis
As a creative discovery for the kid.
A discovery!
What discovery did your boys make?
They only worked on things
that are beyond them!
That's the truth, and we have
to put our feet back on the ground.
We have to look at the truth
in the eyes!
Well then, let's look at
the face of this reality.
What is the program,
according to you?
These? At first, you berated me
Because we didn't use
the reading book in class.
You asked me: "Why don't you at least
try some of the traditional teachings?"
Right? Good.
I asked myself this question.
And so, I started to search.
I was looking for any material that
would've be useful for the boys,
And I didn't find anything,
anything they could've cared for.
That would've kept them
attending classes.
So, this time, it was you
that made the decision.
Not involving anyone else.
There is no balanced option.
I had to choose between a school
that was bound to their lives,
Or a school that was bound
to these books.
I chose to be bound by their lives,
following the spirit of the program.
The spirit of the program!
Let's leave that spirit alone.
That is intangible,
let's stick to the substance.
Fine, let's stick to the substance.
Inside these books, I didn't find
anything other than dates,
And names of cities, rivers, mountains,
of plants, of animals!
The birth and death of
historical figures!
Dates of ceasefire, of battles,
of peace!
Things to memorize, stupidly,
without understanding them.
Learning only to pass the tests.
And I'm not just talking about my boys.
I believe-- I think that
this manner of teaching
Has been surpassed, outdone and
condemned by everyone,
Even by the program itself,
in absolute!
That boy, the one you
questioned earlier,
That is the toughest one I have.
He has repeated the year three times,
he is already thirteen years old.
Earlier, you asked him about that
ugly poem by Pascoli.
- Ugly!?
- Yes, Ms. Olivieri.
Because Pascoli also wrote
ugly poems.
You asked him about
the meaning of the passage:
"Suddenly, a voice
from the crow's nest"
Or even: "You, who steered the bow
to the pale twilight."
And on top of that, you asked him what
was the general meaning of the poem!
What feelings did Christopher Columbus
experience when he discovered America?
But what could he have known? Why would
he care about Columbus and America?
This boy has a very difficult
situation in his family.
His mother goes in and
out of the hospitals,
His father keep beating him
even though his nose is bleeding,
He told me that himself.
He also experienced trauma
following a car crash--
I know! But that an extreme,
an exception!
That's not true, in this class
with me, that is no exception!
Regardless, he has the right to attend
school, for eight years!
With the other teachers, he spent his
time hanging around the hallways.
One teacher kicked him out, she told him
he wasn't worthy of receiving lessons!
That way, the problem was
as good as solved!
But of course, he always yells,
he always carries his sling with him.
He has problems focusing,
he talks too much.
But with me, he attended class,
he was here!
When we made the first journal,
He came out as the most efficient one.
And he regained some dignity, because
his classmates used to make fun of him.
He was interested in child labor, since
that is his most immediate future.
He was interested with the problems in
housing, because lives with it!
He lives in a small house,
humid and with no plumbing.
Do you know what this means?
Good.
And, what was I supposed
to read to him?
Inside this book?
Where is it? Listen up!
"Man does not live on bread alone,
but also the splendor of the firmament,
"For the elegance of the magnolia, for
the exquisite design of the snowflake,
"Not only bread, but also
the magic of the violin,
"Of the sublime cathedral
that is barely lit,
"Not just bread, but also the
biographies of the grand souls."
And it keeps going:
"Oh, woe is me."
"The almond has flourished and I did not
hear anything, I did not see it."
And the other boys?
I found them inside the fields.
Grouped in gangs,
killing and torturing lizards.
And these?
This is the group from Torraccia.
They live in slums that get cooked
in the summer and flood in the winter.
They start to work when they are seven.
Seven years old!
Bringing money to the household.
They negotiate with adults!
What was I supposed to tell them?
That you don't live on bread alone,
but also the firmament?
The magic of the violin?
The biographies of grand men?
Bear in mind, that these
are just the smallest complaints.
Apparently harmless,
but there is even worse...
The falsehoods, the inaccuracies...
Here, listen: "The Fascist party emerges
with the purpose to organize...
"And to discipline the Nation from the
inside, strong and respected worldwide."
And it goes on, it's not over yet.
"Italy has tried expanding its dominion
from Eritrea to Abyssinia,
"But the negus, the king of Abyssinia
sent hordes of ferocious blacks,
"Against our soldiers."
You advised me against
talking about politics in class.
What is this then?
I can't have the boys research about
a current problem, a real problem.
Documented, as it is written
on these slides.
But a random author allows himself to
write any absurdity, any inaccuracy.
And on top of that, I have to teach
it to the boys, I would deceive them!
Alright, alright!
But there's no need to generalize.
You made a choice, a free-spirited one.
But, why--
What is this supposed to be then?
Is this not a political and
ideological choice, to write these?
I never claimed the texts
to be perfect.
I was telling you before, that
you have let this run out of your hands.
And Ms. Olivieri was right when she said
that teachers like this are dragged.
The school should be formative.
The program says it, as well.
And if the boys are not formed by
the teacher, then who will?
But if we are the ones to start, we
teach the boys between right and wrong.
What is beautiful and what is not,
what they should study or not,
What will we be able to form?
Free men, capable of thinking on their
own, able to choose for themselves?
Or will they be slaves? Robots?
How can you not understand?
According to you,
everything we do is wrong.
Is that what you think?
Yes.
For more than a hundred years, in Italy,
in the world, this is how we teach.
And now, we have to listen to the
fact that everything is a mistake.
- And it's you saying it!
- Please, it's not me saying it.
These things have being said
in Italy for the past 50 years now.
Maybe its easier to speak
than it is to act.
In the meantime, let's act.
Principal, if you allow it,
I'll go back to the front office.
It's late and there is much to do.
Go ahead, I'll be right with you.
Professor D'Angelo...
I listened to your speech,
patiently...
We have a long discourse,
And yet, we have returned
to the main concern.
Considering the situation,
I must tell you...
I cannot judge your class in a different
manner than how I judge the others.
I understand that for your boy
there might be one-of-a-kind problems,
But for me, every one
of the boys is the same.
I was inspired by this principles, on
which I based 25 years of career.
And, even as a man...
I can understand you.
As a principal, I cannot use
two weights, and two scales.
Even though I realize that,
by acting this way,
I could create a very serious
damage to your boys.
This is everything I can say to you.
That's the way it is.
You've already decided that
these boys won't be ready in two months.
I didn't say that.
The truth is, you don't give
a damn about these boys.
You didn't give a damn
in all these years,
Throwing them between halls, from
one class to the other.
When they failed the tests, or
when they were absent,
Only now you start to worry about them,
just when the exam has arrived.
You feel the responsibility,
your sense of duty,
The criteria that has inspired your
25 years of honorable career.
Only now you start to feel conscious.
Do you know how many of the boys already
have their designated seats in prison?
And if this were to happen one day,
You will think you are completely
separated from the fact,
- But that is not true.
- Enough!
I won't allow you to
speak to me with those terms.
I don't care anymore, principal.
Because with this conditions,
I will not stay here.
But I wanted to say something else.
The real exam, the real failure, they're
directed towards me and my work.
The fact that you can't
understand me.
You cannot seem to understand,
you won't accept it.
You don't have the courage to review,
to change your position.
To doubt your own principles, which
have been surpassed, they are old.
And that they don't have
anything to do with reality.
D'Angelo!
What's going on?
I've been looking for you everywhere!
What did you do?
I went to the office, it was bad.
The principal was as pale
as a corpse, so ugly!
He looked like a lemon, yellow.
He almost had a heart attack.
But you too, darn it.
Come, let's have a drink.
You just won't listen to me.
How many times did I tell you?
Don't act up, you'll ruin yourself!
Everything for those four street cats.
Was it worth it?
Don't make me talk.
- Mario! What are you drinking?
- Nothing.
Order anything, you look bad.
- A coffee then.
- Bring me a coffee and a pop.
Throw in a thin lemon in there,
and some mineral water.
And bring a glass of water
too, for the medicine.
My liver is giving up on me.
When I eat, I feel like swallowed a rock
and I get a pounding headache.
It's awful.
The principal told me you raised
your voice, you were screaming!
But you could've told him he was right,
he is about to retire in a year!
You just needed to play: "Yes principal,
now we will try to fix everything."
That would've been the end, but you had
to talk about high pedagogy.
Oh, come on, don't think about it!
Don't make this a tragedy!
Your whole demeanor seems--
What's wrong? Is there something else
other than this? Have some confidence.
Maybe it is my fault.
In three or four months...
I wanted to teach them too much.
Maybe it was better if I gave them the
notions, in order to pass the test.
Now the principal can really fail them.
No, what failure?
This week you can give them a fast
crash-course about arithmetic,
- Some Italian, some world history--
- And who has the courage?
I'd rather get replaced by a substitute,
I am leaving.
The first hardship, you take
your belongings and sail away?
Do your work there as a hobby,
or do you need the money?
Can you afford to do that?
There you go!
Don't say you're leaving.
As for the principal don't worry
about him. We'll go together on Monday.
Just talk, tell him you're sorry,
tell him you were nervous, or exhausted.
You'll see, everything will be fine.
You want a revolution, as if you
had to transform primary school.
You'll soon teach in high school.
Leave these problems to us,
we don't have anything else to do.
Here's the coffee.
Drink this coffee, it will
pick up your morale.
Good morning!
Good morning.
Dad?
- Hey, dad.
- Maria, Bruno is here!
- How are you?
- I'm fine.
- Hey, Carla!
- How are you?
How's it going?
There she is! Hey!
What's up? Did you like my surprise?
- How are the legs going?
- They're good.
- Hey, Bruno!
- Hey there!
- I made you some coffee.
- Thank you.
- Do you want to rest a bit?
- No, don't worry.
How come you didn't call us?
I would've cleaned up.
You're right.
You're in good shape, dad,
you know that?
Donato has not met with you yet.
Stick around and we'll
get acquainted, right Dona'?
- You'll eat here tomorrow, OK?
- You can come by my house then.
- Are you always working the afternoons?
- No, now I'm doing shifts.
Two mornings, two afternoons
and two nights.
- Is it convenient?
- Yes, I guess.
I'll do it, come on.
You can go, dad, you're tired.
After a few days of forced inactivity,
I was more restless and tired than before.
The idea that my boys were
in the hands of a substitute teacher.,
That more than likely taught them with
traditional methods, took away my peace.
Fortunately, I received a
letter from Guido.
One of my friends, also a professor,
that moved to the North years ago.
"And so, you left your classroom,
your boys and you left."
"You told me you also did it
for the boys,
"To avoid clashing your contrasting
views against your superiors,
"Which could've impeded the
boys from ever graduating."
"I'm sorry but,
what does all of this mean?"
"Why would they flunk them?"
"From the material you sent me, it looks
like you've done more than plenty."
"And even if they fail, would that
be your fault, or their own?"
"In the end, what was their complaint?
That you took things slow?"
"That you are not
a true teacher?"
"They wouldn't be wrong, you were not
a teacher, but an educator."
"You didn't settle on just forcing to
them a specific number of notions."
"But, instead, you gave them
instruments to interpret reality."
"But it's useless that I'm reminding you
these facts, because you know its true."
"Even if you could've forgotten,
in a moment of discomfort or doubt..."
Goodbye, dad, keep your chin up!
I only understood
one thing with clarity.
That leaving, abandoning them
was not a solution for anyone.
This problem wasn't exclusive to Remo,
Franco or Stefano, or their classmates.
It wasn't exclusive to the boys from
Tiburtino, or Pietralata or Torraccia.
It involved everyone,
every boy in the same position.
Those that attend, that ask questions,
those that deserve it.
A school capable of forming
independent men, free and new.
Miss!
- Good morning, how are you?
- Good, how are you?
- Good, where's Romano?
- He's at school.
- Franco? And Remo?
- They're down here.
- Can we call them in?
- Yes.
- Franco!
- Remo!
Come, the professor is here!
Hello, Franco! Hello, Remo!
Hello, professor!
- How are you, Remo?
- I'm good.
- What about school?
- I haven't attended since you left.
- What do you mean you haven't?
- I started to work again.
- Giorgio!
- Hey, professor, what's up?
- How are you?
- Good.
Hey, Romano! Hey, Munzi!
Massimo?
Where are you? Come here.
Did you hurt yourself?
How many points did you get?
Where's Romano?
Romano!
We wanted to have a cookout.
We'll invite the entire neighborhood,
we're gonna look like ticks.
Everyone shares something,
we can have meat, some lamb even!
In memory of Bruno Cirino,
who left us on April 17th, 1981.
Loosely adapted from the novel
"A year in Pietralata."
Interpreted by children and inhabitants
of the Roman villages
of Tiburtino Terzo, Pietralata
and La Torraccia.
Pay attention for a moment, boys.
We have collected a lot of material.
And I have to say I'm happy
because you all did a good job.
Some have brought a story
written by their fathers.
Others wrote the stories their
fathers were telling them.
What does this mean? This means that
your parents, in this topic of history,
Have joined the classroom,
with the roles of teachers.
And this is a nice thing, right?
That every family contributed
to this lesson of history.
And we have so much material,
we could even write a book.
Our own history book.
- A journal.
- Yes, a journal.
- And we can sell it.
- We can then sell it.
This means we have to--
I think we can--
We have to confirm this later but,
We can isolate two chapters,
using all of this material.
From one side, we have
the war stories. Right?
Of imprisonment, for example,
Sergio Valente's father.
The other part could be instead,
about the discomfort, the misery,
The hunger that they experienced,
meaning they weren't in the front,
But rather they were left behind
in the cities.
During the Second World War,
what happened?
The ratio between military casualties
and civilian casualties,
Was increased because
of the civilian casualties.
Because of the bombings, the hunger,
the illnesses, the misery.
I'd like to give you an example
of what you wrote.
Of the two parts in which
we could divide this material.
There's Sacco's father, that tells us
he did not participate in the war,
He says he was young,
but he doesn't tell us how old he was.
"My father was a very lively child."
"He often played with
the Germans in pretend-war."
"They gave him an empty rifle
and they would then hide."
"All the while my father
pretended to shoot,"
"My uncles would then jump inside
the trucks, and steal something to eat."
"Before the departure, a German sergeant
wants to gift him a Christmas tree,"
"Decorated with starry sparkliners."
He wrote "sparkliners".
Later, when we spell-check we will
see if this is the correct term.
And this was also seen in Sicily,
before the Allies disembarked.
Now a segment from Romano's text.
"This is the telling of what
my mother experienced around 1943,"
"When she was in the Cassino front."
"Six months of bombings, night and day,
of sacrifice, of fear and hunger,"
"After a few days my father fell ill
as well, no doctors, no medicine."
"We were forced to abandon our house
and leave for the countryside."
"There, we built a hut
covered with trees and branches."
"We had to keep on hiding, and only went
outside to find herbs for us to eat."
The front of Montecassino
was a very important moment,
but also a dramatic one,
in the history of Italy.
Now we have Valente's text, it reads:
"My father, in times of war,
left to fight in Albania."
"But after a short while
he was captured by the Nazis,"
"And he was taken into a
concentration camp in Germany."
Here we have two elements
in just this few lines.
Captivity, concentration camps--
And before that, Albania,
the war against Greece...
You see how much
work we have to do?
Now we have to segment it
and give it some organization.
First, I'd like to hang
the map of Europe.
- Hang it right there.
- Do you need a hand, professor?
I just need a chair.
Should I get the stapler?
No, there's a nail right here.
Is it low enough?
Can you all see it?
Is that OK?
We'll never reach those
northern countries.
There's Yugoslavia.
From Rome, you have to
go all the way around.
"Resting home."
We thought it was important to go back
at least until the First World War.
The grand-father of Marco Speranza,
who fought in the Great War,
Told us about the things
he remembered.
So, then what happened?
From the Ciabbatino tunnel, they made us
exit towards a portable bridge,
That traversed the Isonzo river.
And we crossed through it,
because at Montesanto,
There weren't any roads,
there was no highway,
But there were miners, that carved
tunnels that went inside the hills,
Near the road to--
Near Isonzo, right by the street.
They carved these tunnels--
And right around--
Around mid-August, of 1917, the 13th,
they made us cross that bridge.
And they made us go through these
tunnels they had made.
We walked up to the top of Montesanto,
but when we got there,
The enemy soldiers were already armed
with cannons, at the top of the hill.
But, from the side of Mount Sabotino,
our artillery was firing back at them.
- But you were covered there?
- What's that?
- You had some kind of protection.
- No, we didn't have anything.
- We were inside the tunnels.
- Yes, but--
If your friends were firing towards
the hill, you had some protection.
What protection?
Was there hunger, during the war?
Hunger? No, maybe in the streets, but at
Sabotino and Santo we had plenty to eat.
- This one day--
- What was your impression of the war?
- What's that?
- What was your impression of war?
What impression? I was afraid!
One time at Col di Lana,
when I was sent there...
We had to walk up to the hills
and down the roads,
I had to eat all of the rations, and
when I got there I couldn't eat anymore.
Fear!
I heard cannons being shot!
I had never heard firing before,
other than the fireworks in Rome.
I didn't know about cannons, who ever
participated in war? Not me!
What does it represent?
When Mussolini declared war.
- So, this is Piazza Venezia?
- Yes
- Why did you do it entirely in black?
- Because they were fascists.
Move this a bit to the right.
- Can I paint the outline?
- Yes.
This is your father's entire itinerary?
Explain it to me.
From Rome, he left to Tivoli,
to the garrison.
From Tivoli, they went to Brindisi.
Here, they took the "Prince of Piedmont"
ship, which clashed against the English.
They reached Valona, and from there they
moved to a city that I couldn't find.
"THE WAR OF FRANCO'S FATHER."
How long did it take
for him? From Rome--
- Teacher!
- Was he in Rome in 1943 or 1945?
So then, write below: "1940..."
And the date he arrived.
These arrows show
the Italian Army and it's movements.
They arrived up until this point,
Sidi Barrani, I think.
So then at Suez he was turned into a
prisoner, and then moved into India.
Highlight it, ask your mother if
she remembers where he was imprisoned.
- OK?
- Yes.
- Teacher!
- Luciano, do you have a pen?
Stefano, could you please come
so we can correct your work?
I just have the draft,
I need to correct it.
"Unknown if dead or alive."
So he is missing?
I don't know.
My grand-father didn't receive
any information about him.
We call that a "missing person", when
you don't receive any news about them.
He was considered missing in Russia.
I don't know, that's what
my mother was telling me--
We realized that we had the entire
Second World War as told by Italians.
Sergio's father in
Greece and Yugoslavia.
Stefano's grand-father that
disappeared in Russia.
The mothers of Franco and Romano mixed
into the hellish battle of Cassino.
Two uncles of Luciano, that were
killed in the Ardeatine massacre.
And all of the families victim of
the bombings and the hunger.
What's missing? How can it be missing?
The Ardeatine caves, right after.
The armistice, right here...
There you go.
The Allied invasion in 1943. It would be
important if you found the day as well.
Meaning, did you read before or
after September 8th?
Do you know what happened
in September 8th?
Do you remember?
- The Armistice
- There you go.
It was a surprise for them, to find the
lives of their parents inside the books.
They studied with pleasure, even if the
books were written for older students.
- Oh, that one!
- Here, can you find it yourself?
From the headlines, we moved to history.
The transition was easy and spontaneous.
Here, the Ardeatine caves,
we have a photographic argument.
But these, they were already dead.
- They're underground.
- This thing is covering them up.
I have a book that says many civilians
were killed in Russia.
Find what it says-- What I wrote
about the Ardeatine caves.
The period regarding
the Ardeatine caves.
- Is it good?
- Yes, this is the...
When the Germans arrived
at Tiburtino.
- This one as well.
- That's good.
Without the "h" at the end.
Its pronounced "Gering"
"The Germans retreated,
in a couple of months..."
"They abandoned everything."
"And not much later, we found out that
the Neo-Zealanders had arrived."
"We were ran towards them."
That's the same mistake as before.
- "We ran."
- Exactly, "We ran towards them."
- "As we got closer..."
- With just one "c".
"As we got closer..."
Good work.
"We are hungry, and they
gave us a loaf of bread."
- "And as we enjoyed..."
- "We ran."
"We ran towards our families."
"And they didn't--"
What?
Oh, it was the family that didn't
believe they gifted something to eat.
We could write: "They couldn't believe
they had given us a loaf of bread."
Our family--
No one? How can we say...?
"No one could believe that
they had gifted us a loaf of bread."
"I showed the piece of white bread, and
we happily walked towards our home."
"And this way, our long sacrifice of
fear and hunger had ended."
"I thank God."
This ending is very beautiful.
This is the paper, I already gave you
the index, try not to stain them.
Come here, I'll show you
how to build the index.
The title of the chapters in upper case.
"News coming from..."
In upper case.
Professor, can you correct this paper?
This is the schematic,
now I'll give you--
Professor, can I have the pushpins?
Remember that the first page
needs a lot of ink because--
I'm done, I have to print this now?
Look, put it in the folder...
To print it out.
Is the grammar OK?
Shouldn't it be "Page..."?
- Yes, cancel out the other "Pa..."
- I'm done.
I finished.
Good, now you can put the index
inside the printing folder.
Take this.
We still have work to do.
- Where should we hang it?
- Right here.
Don't step on the copies.
Have you finished as well?
"V - Do not kill."
Why don't we oughta use
"5th - Do not kill" as the title?
- You shouldn't say "oughta"
- Come on.
"5th - Do not kill",
as the title for the journal?
That's not bad...
Boys! As the title for the journal Marco
Veneto proposed "5th - Do not Kill."
What about "A suffered war."?
Luciano Del Croce proposes
"A suffered war."
"The war of our fathers."
Let's see who wants "5th - Do not Kill",
raise you hand.
It's better!
I'll raise it too.
OK then, "5th - Do not kill."
That's perfect.
Piazza? Brings this over to Fabrizio.
Try to balance it out,
give it to Munzi.
Place the white papers
in the center of the table.
Boys, remember to make
three holes for the journal.
One in the center,
and two on the sides.
These orange covers are really nice.
- Professor!
- What's wrong?
The section about Palermo has run out.
Palermo has run out?
Stop before you reach Palermo.
So far, we have 50.
Now that they have studied the most
absurd of violence, the war,
And that they have titled
their journal: "5th - Do not kill.",
I thought about making them
read some passages from the Bible.
I wanted them to hear
the teachings of Jesus.
Like a testimony.
This passage is called:
"Love your enemies, and pray for them."
"An eye for an eye,
a tooth for a tooth."
"But I say unto you,
That ye resist not evil."
"But whosoever shall smite thee on thy
right cheek turn to him the other also."
"And if anyone wants to sue you
and take your shirt;"
"Hand over your coat as well."
"If anyone forces you to go one mile,
go with them two miles."
Who here wants to explain
to me the meaning of this passage?
To love our enemies.
If someone kills you, you love them.
But the book is badly written,
because it says;
"If someone slaps you,
give them the other cheek also."
You'd have to be very stupid!
Piazza, if someone slaps you,
what would you do?
I beat them up.
- Me, I'd kick them.
- Munzi, what do you say?
I think it has to do
with instinct, you see.
If I kick him, he will feel it in his
heart the need to react.
Because he's not just going to stand
there, that would be acting dumb.
If someone slaps you with any
reason, you instinctively--
But no one would
slap you without a reason!
The concept that Munzi is explaining is
that, if you don't react you are stupid.
Does that seem fair to you?
Imagine someone threatens a woman
in the street, and you just ignore it.
Then, she is going to
gather other people.
OK, let's leave people
and the street alone.
I wanted to ask you, do you think a
person can argue with themselves?
- No!
- They always need someone to argue.
At least two people.
Then, if one of the two does not want
to fight, then what happens?
The other one will beat them up,
because they acted like fools!
You for example, has any of you
managed to avoid a confrontation?
- I did.
- Let's listen to Marco.
One day, I was bathing
in the river bank.
There was a boy there that took my pants
and he was going to throw them in.
Just a small piece. So I said: "Try and
do it again. Do it again."
So he just threw them at me
and he left.
You see? Arguments can be avoided,
that is what I'm trying to say.
We have seen that one of the
methods used by men
To solve problems,
is war.
Or even violence in general.
- The other method we talked about--
- A preach?
No, how can we call it?
- This protest.
- Peaceful! Non-violence!
- A peaceful revolution.
- There you go, non-violence.
There are two methods;
Violence, and non-violence.
Like a hunger strike.
Do you really think that,
even in our own--
Because we don't have to
always think in abstract terms.
Or only talking about war.
Since we have established there is also
violence in class, at Tiburtino...
Do you think it is feasible?
This form of non-violence?
Even between us?
Yes, but everyone has to do it.
We have to make the others understand.
Some might understand later.
We need a law by the state.
The state says not to steal, and yet
look at how many thieves there are.
Why do you need
a law by the state?
Otherwise,
how will they understand?
I'm saying, in order to spread the news.
But how--
Fabrizio, what did you say?
When Gandhi started, did you see
how many people followed him?
The students, the teachers.
Plenty of them!
We have established
that we are all violent.
Everyone here has to make an effort
in order to stop being violent.
You, Sergio, for example.
I might also be wrong.
But I think that you, in class,
were one of the most violent students.
For example, do you feel like making
a promise, as a test? Just 15 days.
To avoid arguments.
Do you want to make that
promise in front of the class?
Yes.
Boys, who else wants to
commit, just like Sergio?
I do! I do!
Who wants to take this
15 day trial?
- I do.
- Now everyone wants to.
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight, nine people.
Maybe I didn't say it before but the
trial also applies outside of school.
No!
If someone wants to beat you up,
then what do you do?
If someone comes up at school, and
punches you, and you don't react...
- Someone just punches you immediately?
- Yes, if you bother them--
If you bother them, but that also means
not looking for trouble, right?
It implies you shouldn't force
someone else into a fight.
Right, Mennuni? This is also important.
Not only you shouldn't react, but you
should also avoid provoking them.
Sergio, let's say--
Let's ignore the 15 days, just
start doing the test.
Because the boys in my block
always gather to bother us.
And I can't handle not reacting.
Anyhow, Sergio told me he was going
to do it, shall we shake hands, Sergio?
- Me too, professor.
- Shall we try? Romano as well.
- Not me.
- You, not yet.
- You too? You too?
- Yes, I will.
- Who will resist not being violent?
- I will!
This counts outside of the
classroom too, OK?
OK, you too?
Sacco, why did you
put your hand down?
- You won't take the commitment?
- In any case, it doesn't matter...
- What do you mean it doesn't matter?
- For a guy like him...
What do you know,
maybe he is violent at home.
- At home!
- Exactly.
To talk about non-violence
to these kids,
That breathe violence ever
since they came into the world,
It's not easy.
Unfortunately, we don't
have much time.
If I had them for the first five years,
this would've been a different story.
But I'm not sorry for trying.
It was a first step.
I'm afraid for Giancarlo,
I'm afraid that I've lost him.
Grab some garlic!
Make yourself a meal!
Grab some garlic here!
Four pieces for 100 lire.
Four pieces for 100 lire.
Very cheap!
Remo told me a while ago that
he wanted me to meet him, at work.
Today, he was selling
garlic at Piazza Ungheria.
Lady, just 100 lire.
The good garlic!
Fresh, and good garlic!
Here madam, four heads, 100 lire,
The good garlic!
May I offer you some, madam?
100 lire, do you want to buy them?
It's a good price.
Best garlic there is.
How much did you profit today?
I don't know, let's see.
- Quite a profit.
- Yes.
Remo crudely brought me back
to the immediate future of these boys.
Soon to be thrown in the working world,
unknown to them, unable to be protected.
So far we have about 1500...
1700... 1900.
3000, 3300, 3450...
- 4790 lire.
- It was a good day, right?
- You could say that.
- Is everyday like this?
Well, it depends.
It changes from day to day.
- Because it's a Saturday afternoon.
- Of course, people get the supplies.
The time is running out,
we have two months until the exams.
And soon, the majority of them,
will start to work too.
This way, I proposed a further survey
in the world of work among their peers.
In their own block.
What's your profession?
Tire repair?
- How much do you earn per week?
- Two thousand; lire.
Two thousand?
No, put it up in the section
of "Torre Maura".
Did he ever attend school?
Did you ask him?
No, but I think he has a kid.
You see him?
Sergio! This is not part
of San Basilio.
This first division you made between
blocks can already give us results.
Look for example at Torraccia,
there are many boys that work there.
And how many inhabitants are there?
Around five hundred, maybe?
Meanwhile, here at Tiburtina
and Monte Pecoraro,
Where the population is much bigger
at around five or six thousand people,
There are less children working.
What does this make you think?
This first separation.
They live in the slums,
they have fewer possibilities.
There is a greater need for work
because they are poorer.
Besides this neighborhood division,
we can make another one.
We can divide the boys that work
considering the job, or the profit.
Or we could use a schematic, which
I have already drawn, to see the ages.
For example, let's see
between seven and fourteen years old.
Let's see how many boys work
at Torraccia, at Tiburtina and so on.
- Who wants to write for me?
- I do!
The principal is here.
We're working on--
Boys, the principal is here!
What are you boys doing?
Would you like to see
the work we've just done?
Show your work to the principal.
We have pictures of Tiburtino.
Look at how pretty this photograph is!
This is the square, this is Torraccia.
- We drew all of our neighborhood
- The boys did everything.
This is our camera.
We also built a library.
How do you like it?
Just a moment, boys.
Would you like to see our essay?
Let's go over there!
- We made this.
- What are these "bad-beats"?
- It's a term they coined.
- The contrary to high-class people.
We use to describe people
that are doing bad.
Be careful with this, boys!
We spent all of the money in the box.
- We spent it all.
- What is this box?
It's the classroom box, each student
brought coins everyday.
We had to spend it in the pictures
and the printing copies.
- And we had to buy the camera too!
- Put it back now.
- Can we continue?
- Yes, continue.
Pass me those designs.
I wanted to explain a bit.
We did this in a group,
but without competitiveness.
I think the finished work
provided great results.
Look at this particularity, there
is a likeness in the style.
Not only that but, thanks to
these artworks,
The boys have started to learn
how to read the painting.
To distinguish which details
are better than others.
- The why.
- I understand.
They don't restrain themselves saying:
"I like this, I don't like this."
Principal, we also
made a small journal.
Yes, this research gave
life to this small journal.
About this journal...
This last one, you have received it
because we sent it to you.
- About the Second World War.
- We can talk about this later on.
Now, I wanted to say
something else.
As the acting principal,
I felt that it was necessary
for me to visit the class.
The final tests of the year
are approaching.
I will be part of the commission,
And I thought it would be good for them
if I asked a few questions.
Of course, would you like
to start asking?
- Tell them to sit down.
- Professor, we have finished our work.
Boys, take a seat.
Seat down, the principal
would like to ask you some questions.
Help me clean the table.
We moved the desk
because I never use it.
Please, have a seat.
Alright boys, pay attention.
So, let's have some questions going.
Kindly, let's grab the
reading books.
- Who can get those for me?
- I can!
Here we are.
Open it at page 19,
page 19 on your reading books.
You, read page 19.
- Standing up?
- Yes, always standing up.
(Reads Pascoli's Return of Columbus)
"Land! ...Nocturnal and suddenly--"
Hold it. Start over.
Read it slowly.
And try to understand what
it is you are reading.
"Land! ...Nocturnal and suddenly,
a voice from the crow's nest"
"Wear the scarlet cloak,
raise the banner and the cross,"
"You, who steered--
Steered the bow to the p--
"To the pale twilight."
Do you understand what you
are reading, or not?
- What are you reading?
- A poetry.
- And what is the poetry about?
- It's about land.
Which land?
Is there someone that
can read better than this?
- You, come here.
- Me?
"Land! ...Nocturnal and suddenly,
a voice from the crow's nest"
"Wear the scarlet cloak,
raise the banner and the cross,"
"You, who steered the bow
to the pale twilight and dawn."
What does twilight mean?
I don't know.
How can you read without
knowing the meaning of the words?
Can anyone else answer?
You, come here.
What does twilight mean?
Let's skip this since the words
are somewhat special and difficult.
It's also logical that they are
not inside your comprehension.
But, what is the general
sense of the poetry?
What does it make you feel?
What does it explain?
These are the feelings of a man that
has spotted land in a very long time.
What land is he watching,
and who is this man?
Go back to your seat,
you, come here,
Who is this man?
Christopher Columbus.
And what did he discover?
He discovered...
America.
But did he know that he
had arrived in America?
It seems that we are
in the wrong track, professor.
Let's hear someone else.
You, come here.
Let's look at the grammatical
analysis of this poem.
Let's see.
"Raises", what is that word?
- A verb.
- Good.
- What else?
- The verb "to raise".
Shut! When you had to talk, you were
quiet. Now you talk.
This is not an appropriate
attitude for the classroom.
Come here, you.
"Scarlet."
First of all, what does it mean?
Go back to your seat.
Seems to me that they are not ready
for the grammatical analysis, professor.
We didn't have the time, we had
to do so many other things.
But no time for this one.
You, in which year does
Italy unify?
Does anyone know the answer?
One at a time!
- 1860.
- Good.
Piazza, come here.
Who were the authors of the unification,
this glorious period of Italian history?
We haven't dealt with the unification.
Luciano, did you want to say...?
Principal, we know
plenty about the Second World War.
And not the unification.
For now, we studied the wars,
in particular the Second one.
It seemed better
to go in chronological order.
Anyhow, this is it...
At least, the fundamental
characteristics.
Garibaldi, do you know who that is?
- A general.
- And what did he do?
When does he say:
"I obey!" ?
- Bonini would like to answer.
- Come here.
You can go back now.
Who were the great authors
of the unification?
Mazzini and Garibaldi.
- And then?
- Cavour!
And?
- Victor-Emmanuel.
- Victor-Emmanuel, what?
The second.
And what did they do?
(In Roman accent)
They tried to find any way to--
- To unite Italy.
- Does that sound like proper Italian?
(Struggling in Italian)
They used any opportunity to--
- To make a united Italy.
- I understand.
Try to express yourself
more clearly.
Hold it.
You can go now.
- Thank you.
- Goodbye.
See you soon, professor.
You should stay with me
for a moment.
They are late these boys, very late,
and I'm sorry I have to say this.
Not even an element or principle
of the grammatical analysis.
And then you have geography,
history, arithmetic...
I ask you, what have
you done with all of this time?
Sure, you made this thing here,
and it might even be pretty,
But I ask myself, what does
any of this have to do with school?
This is our research on child labor.
If you let me explain--
No, I understand, the boys were running
around, taking pictures of the town.
This will have consequences,
you already had complains before.
- But, why?
- We'll talk about it later.
Oh, you're here? I couldn't find you,
I thought you had already left.
Good morning, should I wait
for you in the office?
No, please, come in.
You're just in time.
I was talking to professor D'Angelo
about interrogating the class.
It was a disaster.
The reading and supplementary
books were tossed aside.
And we have to interfere, we have to do
anything, absolutely.
- I understand.
- I don't.
I truly don't understand.
I have tried to explain the situation
to professor D'Angelo before he arrived.
If you remember our first meeting,
I tried to put you on alert.
I told him to do
whatever he can.
- Raise their morale.
- And so?
But you, ever since the first day,
you don't want to listen to anyone.
As if we were here to slow you
down, or to harm your teaching.
And not to advice you, help you--
One moment, miss, excuse me.
Are you implying that they are not ready
because I decided to teach on my own?
No, I did not imply that.
So that means the students are no longer
"leftovers" as you called them before.
They are just ill-prepared,
and I'm the one to blame.
Let me explain, this is not what--
Excuse me a moment.
I'd like to show you a text the boys
wrote the very next day I got here.
Here, I'll grab one randomly:
"My family."
"My family is composed of
four members,
"My father, my brother and myself."
He even forgot about his mother.
Please consider the spelling, the
punctuation, the dryness of the text.
But this was a known problem...
Then, what was I supposed to do?
Change them, from one side to the other?
Look, we are not saying
these boys were prepared.
- Thank God.
- Don't interrupt me.
We are saying that maybe
you didn't do your best
In order to prepare the boys for their
junior certification in a few months.
I didn't do my best?
Ever since I got here,
we have worked every single day.
And for starters, all of the boys
attended class, all of them.
In less than three months,
we made...
After researching the home...
Come, Miss Olivieri,
you haven't seen these.
Three collective drawings,
a grouping.
Just look at the amount of content!
About everything; Crime,
housing, their neighborhood...
Look at the work.
And we made a huge effort.
The boys stayed here until 7 PM,
bringing sandwiches to avoid pausing.
And it's evident that, while working, we
did operations, calculus and the like.
I didn't even mention the
two journals we created.
You received them,
one dealing with the home,
And the other, an essay about the
Second World War, 43 pages!
The boys, and this is important, they
expressed themselves, they spoke.
They were united,
they worked united.
Excuse me but, perhaps
I didn't explain myself clearly.
You asked me, what does all of
this have to do with school?
Is this not Italian, Geography,
History, all in one?
Excuse me, I am not
attacking your methods,
I am under the impression that,
because of your enthusiasm,
In your lack of experience,
You lost track, influenced by
these "new techniques".
You lost sight about what the
school really is about.
Teaching, learning...
And, well I don't know,
if we really want to say everything...
Excuse me, principal...
In these journals...
This one, for example.
"Remo's father."
"Franco's father."
These reports, these stories,
however you want to call them...
The parents wrote these,
and not the boys.
Do you really think the parents know
how to write better than their children?
Sure, in some cases, the boys
only transcribed the stories.
But they typed, they printed,
they corrected...
Are these not language exercises?
Is this not work?
Their parents have probably never
read a book about the Second World War.
But they did read this one, because it's
their own stories, in their own words!
That boy, the one
you questioned before,
The same one that did the
family essay in three lines.
Look, look how much he wrote,
how much effort he made.
Slowly, he began to
reconquer his own family,
He started to learn from it,
to identify the family.
Fine, let's say that
it was legitimate...
This choice to teach
social topics given the context.
Let's allow it.
But I wonder, couldn't you have made
some kind of schedule in the mean time?
What do you mean?
- I respected the schedule.
- What?
I can't remember the exact words,
But the schedule rejects chronological
and systematic learning.
And furthermore, it highlights
a continuous and precise knowledge
About the external environment.
- We can check, if you want to.
- No, no, don't mind!
I am very familiar
with the program.
The external environment!
Do you understand?
For professor D'Angelo, the external
environment is this!
- I didn't say that.
- And so, at the end of the year,
We'll have a class full of sociologists,
of urbanists and economists!
But nevertheless, they won't be able to
distinguish a noun from an adjective!
If that's the case, the schedule also
talks about grammatical analysis
As a creative discovery for the kid.
A discovery!
What discovery did your boys make?
They only worked on things
that are beyond them!
That's the truth, and we have
to put our feet back on the ground.
We have to look at the truth
in the eyes!
Well then, let's look at
the face of this reality.
What is the program,
according to you?
These? At first, you berated me
Because we didn't use
the reading book in class.
You asked me: "Why don't you at least
try some of the traditional teachings?"
Right? Good.
I asked myself this question.
And so, I started to search.
I was looking for any material that
would've be useful for the boys,
And I didn't find anything,
anything they could've cared for.
That would've kept them
attending classes.
So, this time, it was you
that made the decision.
Not involving anyone else.
There is no balanced option.
I had to choose between a school
that was bound to their lives,
Or a school that was bound
to these books.
I chose to be bound by their lives,
following the spirit of the program.
The spirit of the program!
Let's leave that spirit alone.
That is intangible,
let's stick to the substance.
Fine, let's stick to the substance.
Inside these books, I didn't find
anything other than dates,
And names of cities, rivers, mountains,
of plants, of animals!
The birth and death of
historical figures!
Dates of ceasefire, of battles,
of peace!
Things to memorize, stupidly,
without understanding them.
Learning only to pass the tests.
And I'm not just talking about my boys.
I believe-- I think that
this manner of teaching
Has been surpassed, outdone and
condemned by everyone,
Even by the program itself,
in absolute!
That boy, the one you
questioned earlier,
That is the toughest one I have.
He has repeated the year three times,
he is already thirteen years old.
Earlier, you asked him about that
ugly poem by Pascoli.
- Ugly!?
- Yes, Ms. Olivieri.
Because Pascoli also wrote
ugly poems.
You asked him about
the meaning of the passage:
"Suddenly, a voice
from the crow's nest"
Or even: "You, who steered the bow
to the pale twilight."
And on top of that, you asked him what
was the general meaning of the poem!
What feelings did Christopher Columbus
experience when he discovered America?
But what could he have known? Why would
he care about Columbus and America?
This boy has a very difficult
situation in his family.
His mother goes in and
out of the hospitals,
His father keep beating him
even though his nose is bleeding,
He told me that himself.
He also experienced trauma
following a car crash--
I know! But that an extreme,
an exception!
That's not true, in this class
with me, that is no exception!
Regardless, he has the right to attend
school, for eight years!
With the other teachers, he spent his
time hanging around the hallways.
One teacher kicked him out, she told him
he wasn't worthy of receiving lessons!
That way, the problem was
as good as solved!
But of course, he always yells,
he always carries his sling with him.
He has problems focusing,
he talks too much.
But with me, he attended class,
he was here!
When we made the first journal,
He came out as the most efficient one.
And he regained some dignity, because
his classmates used to make fun of him.
He was interested in child labor, since
that is his most immediate future.
He was interested with the problems in
housing, because lives with it!
He lives in a small house,
humid and with no plumbing.
Do you know what this means?
Good.
And, what was I supposed
to read to him?
Inside this book?
Where is it? Listen up!
"Man does not live on bread alone,
but also the splendor of the firmament,
"For the elegance of the magnolia, for
the exquisite design of the snowflake,
"Not only bread, but also
the magic of the violin,
"Of the sublime cathedral
that is barely lit,
"Not just bread, but also the
biographies of the grand souls."
And it keeps going:
"Oh, woe is me."
"The almond has flourished and I did not
hear anything, I did not see it."
And the other boys?
I found them inside the fields.
Grouped in gangs,
killing and torturing lizards.
And these?
This is the group from Torraccia.
They live in slums that get cooked
in the summer and flood in the winter.
They start to work when they are seven.
Seven years old!
Bringing money to the household.
They negotiate with adults!
What was I supposed to tell them?
That you don't live on bread alone,
but also the firmament?
The magic of the violin?
The biographies of grand men?
Bear in mind, that these
are just the smallest complaints.
Apparently harmless,
but there is even worse...
The falsehoods, the inaccuracies...
Here, listen: "The Fascist party emerges
with the purpose to organize...
"And to discipline the Nation from the
inside, strong and respected worldwide."
And it goes on, it's not over yet.
"Italy has tried expanding its dominion
from Eritrea to Abyssinia,
"But the negus, the king of Abyssinia
sent hordes of ferocious blacks,
"Against our soldiers."
You advised me against
talking about politics in class.
What is this then?
I can't have the boys research about
a current problem, a real problem.
Documented, as it is written
on these slides.
But a random author allows himself to
write any absurdity, any inaccuracy.
And on top of that, I have to teach
it to the boys, I would deceive them!
Alright, alright!
But there's no need to generalize.
You made a choice, a free-spirited one.
But, why--
What is this supposed to be then?
Is this not a political and
ideological choice, to write these?
I never claimed the texts
to be perfect.
I was telling you before, that
you have let this run out of your hands.
And Ms. Olivieri was right when she said
that teachers like this are dragged.
The school should be formative.
The program says it, as well.
And if the boys are not formed by
the teacher, then who will?
But if we are the ones to start, we
teach the boys between right and wrong.
What is beautiful and what is not,
what they should study or not,
What will we be able to form?
Free men, capable of thinking on their
own, able to choose for themselves?
Or will they be slaves? Robots?
How can you not understand?
According to you,
everything we do is wrong.
Is that what you think?
Yes.
For more than a hundred years, in Italy,
in the world, this is how we teach.
And now, we have to listen to the
fact that everything is a mistake.
- And it's you saying it!
- Please, it's not me saying it.
These things have being said
in Italy for the past 50 years now.
Maybe its easier to speak
than it is to act.
In the meantime, let's act.
Principal, if you allow it,
I'll go back to the front office.
It's late and there is much to do.
Go ahead, I'll be right with you.
Professor D'Angelo...
I listened to your speech,
patiently...
We have a long discourse,
And yet, we have returned
to the main concern.
Considering the situation,
I must tell you...
I cannot judge your class in a different
manner than how I judge the others.
I understand that for your boy
there might be one-of-a-kind problems,
But for me, every one
of the boys is the same.
I was inspired by this principles, on
which I based 25 years of career.
And, even as a man...
I can understand you.
As a principal, I cannot use
two weights, and two scales.
Even though I realize that,
by acting this way,
I could create a very serious
damage to your boys.
This is everything I can say to you.
That's the way it is.
You've already decided that
these boys won't be ready in two months.
I didn't say that.
The truth is, you don't give
a damn about these boys.
You didn't give a damn
in all these years,
Throwing them between halls, from
one class to the other.
When they failed the tests, or
when they were absent,
Only now you start to worry about them,
just when the exam has arrived.
You feel the responsibility,
your sense of duty,
The criteria that has inspired your
25 years of honorable career.
Only now you start to feel conscious.
Do you know how many of the boys already
have their designated seats in prison?
And if this were to happen one day,
You will think you are completely
separated from the fact,
- But that is not true.
- Enough!
I won't allow you to
speak to me with those terms.
I don't care anymore, principal.
Because with this conditions,
I will not stay here.
But I wanted to say something else.
The real exam, the real failure, they're
directed towards me and my work.
The fact that you can't
understand me.
You cannot seem to understand,
you won't accept it.
You don't have the courage to review,
to change your position.
To doubt your own principles, which
have been surpassed, they are old.
And that they don't have
anything to do with reality.
D'Angelo!
What's going on?
I've been looking for you everywhere!
What did you do?
I went to the office, it was bad.
The principal was as pale
as a corpse, so ugly!
He looked like a lemon, yellow.
He almost had a heart attack.
But you too, darn it.
Come, let's have a drink.
You just won't listen to me.
How many times did I tell you?
Don't act up, you'll ruin yourself!
Everything for those four street cats.
Was it worth it?
Don't make me talk.
- Mario! What are you drinking?
- Nothing.
Order anything, you look bad.
- A coffee then.
- Bring me a coffee and a pop.
Throw in a thin lemon in there,
and some mineral water.
And bring a glass of water
too, for the medicine.
My liver is giving up on me.
When I eat, I feel like swallowed a rock
and I get a pounding headache.
It's awful.
The principal told me you raised
your voice, you were screaming!
But you could've told him he was right,
he is about to retire in a year!
You just needed to play: "Yes principal,
now we will try to fix everything."
That would've been the end, but you had
to talk about high pedagogy.
Oh, come on, don't think about it!
Don't make this a tragedy!
Your whole demeanor seems--
What's wrong? Is there something else
other than this? Have some confidence.
Maybe it is my fault.
In three or four months...
I wanted to teach them too much.
Maybe it was better if I gave them the
notions, in order to pass the test.
Now the principal can really fail them.
No, what failure?
This week you can give them a fast
crash-course about arithmetic,
- Some Italian, some world history--
- And who has the courage?
I'd rather get replaced by a substitute,
I am leaving.
The first hardship, you take
your belongings and sail away?
Do your work there as a hobby,
or do you need the money?
Can you afford to do that?
There you go!
Don't say you're leaving.
As for the principal don't worry
about him. We'll go together on Monday.
Just talk, tell him you're sorry,
tell him you were nervous, or exhausted.
You'll see, everything will be fine.
You want a revolution, as if you
had to transform primary school.
You'll soon teach in high school.
Leave these problems to us,
we don't have anything else to do.
Here's the coffee.
Drink this coffee, it will
pick up your morale.
Good morning!
Good morning.
Dad?
- Hey, dad.
- Maria, Bruno is here!
- How are you?
- I'm fine.
- Hey, Carla!
- How are you?
How's it going?
There she is! Hey!
What's up? Did you like my surprise?
- How are the legs going?
- They're good.
- Hey, Bruno!
- Hey there!
- I made you some coffee.
- Thank you.
- Do you want to rest a bit?
- No, don't worry.
How come you didn't call us?
I would've cleaned up.
You're right.
You're in good shape, dad,
you know that?
Donato has not met with you yet.
Stick around and we'll
get acquainted, right Dona'?
- You'll eat here tomorrow, OK?
- You can come by my house then.
- Are you always working the afternoons?
- No, now I'm doing shifts.
Two mornings, two afternoons
and two nights.
- Is it convenient?
- Yes, I guess.
I'll do it, come on.
You can go, dad, you're tired.
After a few days of forced inactivity,
I was more restless and tired than before.
The idea that my boys were
in the hands of a substitute teacher.,
That more than likely taught them with
traditional methods, took away my peace.
Fortunately, I received a
letter from Guido.
One of my friends, also a professor,
that moved to the North years ago.
"And so, you left your classroom,
your boys and you left."
"You told me you also did it
for the boys,
"To avoid clashing your contrasting
views against your superiors,
"Which could've impeded the
boys from ever graduating."
"I'm sorry but,
what does all of this mean?"
"Why would they flunk them?"
"From the material you sent me, it looks
like you've done more than plenty."
"And even if they fail, would that
be your fault, or their own?"
"In the end, what was their complaint?
That you took things slow?"
"That you are not
a true teacher?"
"They wouldn't be wrong, you were not
a teacher, but an educator."
"You didn't settle on just forcing to
them a specific number of notions."
"But, instead, you gave them
instruments to interpret reality."
"But it's useless that I'm reminding you
these facts, because you know its true."
"Even if you could've forgotten,
in a moment of discomfort or doubt..."
Goodbye, dad, keep your chin up!
I only understood
one thing with clarity.
That leaving, abandoning them
was not a solution for anyone.
This problem wasn't exclusive to Remo,
Franco or Stefano, or their classmates.
It wasn't exclusive to the boys from
Tiburtino, or Pietralata or Torraccia.
It involved everyone,
every boy in the same position.
Those that attend, that ask questions,
those that deserve it.
A school capable of forming
independent men, free and new.
Miss!
- Good morning, how are you?
- Good, how are you?
- Good, where's Romano?
- He's at school.
- Franco? And Remo?
- They're down here.
- Can we call them in?
- Yes.
- Franco!
- Remo!
Come, the professor is here!
Hello, Franco! Hello, Remo!
Hello, professor!
- How are you, Remo?
- I'm good.
- What about school?
- I haven't attended since you left.
- What do you mean you haven't?
- I started to work again.
- Giorgio!
- Hey, professor, what's up?
- How are you?
- Good.
Hey, Romano! Hey, Munzi!
Massimo?
Where are you? Come here.
Did you hurt yourself?
How many points did you get?
Where's Romano?
Romano!
We wanted to have a cookout.
We'll invite the entire neighborhood,
we're gonna look like ticks.
Everyone shares something,
we can have meat, some lamb even!
In memory of Bruno Cirino,
who left us on April 17th, 1981.