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EDUCATION

Italian high schoolers caught on video threatening teacher over grades

Police are investigating at least three students at a vocational high school in Lucca, Tuscany, after a video of them attempting to intimidate a teacher during a dispute over grades went viral.

Published: 20 April 2018 10:39 CEST
Italian high schoolers caught on video threatening teacher over grades
Teachers in Italy say they're subjected to violence by pupils and parents. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

The clip, filmed at the Carrara Technical Institute and obtained by local newspaper Il Tirreno, shows one boy leaning over the teacher's desk and repeating: “Don't piss me off… put six [a pass]”. 

At one point he attempts to grab the teacher's tablet, where marks are registered, as other students snigger. 

When the teacher pulls it away and stands up, the boy points at him and shouts: “You haven't understood a thing. Who's in charge here? Who's in charge? 

“Get on your knees.”

Another video has since emerged of what appears to be the same student donning a motorcycle helmet and making as if to headbutt the teacher, while other yell and laugh. The pupils then dump rubbish bins on his desk.

READ ALSO:

The students, all under 18, are under police investigation for their attempt to “bully” their teacher.

The complaint was filed by the institute's headmaster, who said the teacher involved had not reported the incident. Instead head Cesare Lazzari learned of it when the videos were widely shared on social media, he told a local paper, saying that his first reaction was “anger and astonishment”. 

The students involved are facing suspension for the rest of the school year, meaning that some of them will fail, he told Il Tirreno, who said that the main instigator had already been temporarily excluded on multiple occasions.

Lazzari believes that social media might encourage bad behaviour in pupils, by offering an audience for more and more outrageous stunts.

Teachers all over Italy are facing the same phenomenon. In another video widely shared this week, a student at a technical institute in Rome can be heard threatening to dissolve his teacher in acid, telling him: “I'll put you in hospital, sir”.

READ ALSO: Pupils sued by teacher for Facebook insults

The Italian Minister of Education, Valeria Fedeli, called for the schools in both cases to hand out strict punishments, including for the pupils who had filmed the incidents without intervening and for those who shared the videos online. 

But teachers say the existing sanctions aren't enough, after a string of attacks on school staff not just by pupils, but in several cases by parents.

A teachers' association launched a petition this month calling for a new law on violence against teachers, punishing those who assault them with “sanctions that will provide an educational example to future generations”. So far more than 58,000 people have signed.

At least 24 instances of violence against teachers have been reported in the first four months of 2018. In one case in case in Sicily, two parents fractured a PE teacher's rib for telling off their son, while in Caserta a 17-year-old student slashed his Italian teacher in the face with a knife. In Alessandria, a teacher with motor difficulties was taped to a chair which students then took turns kicking, resulting in the suspension of an entire class. 

READ ALSO: Italy amends law to allow kids to go home from school alone

Italy amends law to allow kids to go home from school alone
Photo: tan4ikk/DepositPhotos

SCHOOLS

Back to school in Italy: how much will it cost, and how can you save money?

With children in Italy returning to school in September, families have begun stocking up on essential supplies. But new figures reveal they may have to shell out more this year.

Published: 1 September 2022 13:14 CEST
Updated: 27 August 2024 08:11 CEST
Back to school in Italy: how much will it cost, and how can you save money?

As the summer holidays draw to a close, kids in Italy are preparing to file back into the classroom for the start of the 2024/2025 school year.

This year, back-to-school dates will range from September 5th to September 16th, with children in the northern Bolzano province set to be the first back in front of the blackboard.

As kids around the country enjoy the last days of their summer break, families have already started the annual rush to stock up on school essentials. 

But the purchase of supplies and textbooks may deal many households a harder blow this year.

According to estimates from Italian consumer association Codacons, school supplies (backpacks, notebooks, pencil cases, stationery, etc.) may cost up to 15 percent more compared to last year, while textbooks will be nearly five percent pricier on average against 2023.

So how much should Italian families prepare to shell out?

According to Codacons, expenses for school supplies alone may amount to a whopping 600 euros per schoolchild. 

As usual, the most expensive item on the back-to-school list is the backpack, with the price of some brand-name articles exceeding 200 euros.

READ ALSO: OPINION: Italian schools need to make parents’ lives easier, not harder

But significant expenses are also required for pencil cases or pouches (some items may go for as much as 60 or 70 euros), school diaries (up to 35 euros for the most sought-after brands) and technical items (i.e., set squares and triangles, compasses, goniometers, etc.).

On top of school supplies, most families will also have to pay for textbooks. 

While elementary school textbooks are supplied free of charge across the country, costs for middle school (scuola media) and high school (scuola superiore) textbooks generally range between 300 and 700 euros, with prices varying depending on the year and school.

All in all then, Codacons estimates that the purchase of school supplies and textbooks may set Italian families back some 1,300 euros per schoolchild this year. 

READ ALSO: OPINION: Are Italy’s international schools really ‘international’?

But as price hikes give rise to justified concern among parents, consumer groups have already offered families some useful advice on how to save up on both supplies and textbooks.

School supplies in Italy

Italian consumer groups have advised families to avoid branded items when it comes to purchasing school supplies. Photo by OLI SCARFF / AFP

How to save money on school supplies

  • Avoid branded items. Children are easily influenced by TV and/or online ads and might push to get the most popular and fashionable articles on the market. However, off-brand items generally have the same features and durability as their more well-known counterparts and might go for 40 percent less.
  • Buy from a local supermarket rather than a stationery shop. At this time of the year, many supermarket chains offer very favourable deals on school kits, with prices being sometimes 30 percent lower than in specialist shops.
  • Don’t buy everything at once. Any item that is not immediately necessary can be bought at a later stage.
  • Wait for teachers’ guidelines, especially when it comes to buying material for art or geometry classes. Knowing exactly what items are required will save you from spending money on wrong or unnecessary articles.

How to save money on textbooks

  • Buy second-hand textbooks. Purchasing libri usati might allow you to save up to 50 percent on school books. However, it’s usually best to check the state of the items – especially their exercise pages – prior to buying. Also, keep in mind that past editions might no longer be accepted.
  • Shop online or in supermarkets. Some supermarkets and online marketplaces sell textbooks at favourable prices, with discounts usually ranging between 10 and 20 percent.
  • Buy digital textbooks. Again, not all schools allow this but in some institutes families have the option to buy the required set of textbooks in digital form. Children can then access the books via a pc, tablet or e-reader.
  • Loan textbooks directly from the school. Not all institutes do this but some allow for various forms of comodato d’uso whereby families can loan textbooks for the entire length of the school year and then return them when classes end in June.
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