TWINNING BETWEEN SCHOOLS: 5 STEPS TO REACH THE GOAL

This is the case of the twinning between the Comprehensive Institutes Miraglia Sogliano and Adelaide Ristori of Naples , which this year chose action 14 of Fuoriclasse in Movimento : to offer students opportunities for exchange and knowledge of other realities “.

We are told by the supporter teachers Riccardo Giuliano and Daniela Melucci, suggesting 5 steps to reach the goal.

5 STEPS TO START A SCHOOL TWINNING
Know and recognize yourself Although natural, twinning two schools is a delicate action : compared to other educational actions, it requires in addition to know and recognize those who, in the territory of their city, share common wills and ways of concrete change . The Ristori in Forcella and the Sogliano in Porta Capuana, 10 minutes away but with so much complexity and fragility.

The courage to create bridges
Moreover, when one’s school has a limited opening on the territory , thus perceiving itself as an island more or less happy, it is not obvious nor easy for it to decide to lower a connecting bridge . The school of our times suffers from a bureaucratization that requires authorizations and written norms to be respected, which seem to be made on purpose to cut off the connection and give the illusion that “the less you dare, the quieter you are”. All this leads us to forget that if we do not change a little every day, it will be reality that will forcefully break in, changing us for the worse.

The involvement of the teaching colleges
Once the proposal is defined , it is necessary to start from the decision of both teaching colleges that want to allow the ship to move. In our case, the first phase of approval was all in all simple, considering that, although not really very close, our schools have known each other for a long time, both through the common commitment with Save the Children and through common teaching experiences.

Organizational rigor and imagination
Once launched, the ship needs to go through several stages: organization, schedules, participation . It is necessary to agree on the schedules and the activities to be carried out, and we of the Sogliano have had easy game in collaborating with the teacher of Ristori Daniela Politi, who with her contagious strength, pushed everyone to overcome the shallows and obstacles, and there has brought to its destination: three days of fun, creative and educational sharing!

Teamwork
Teamwork is what keeps us going everyday in an increasingly difficult school context, but if we don’t recognize it, we don’t spend time, space or care on it, the risk is to succumb to loneliness and immobility. The result was a day of confrontation, listening, growth for us and above all for our students.

which we form together. There are two ways to avoid suffering for it. The first is easy for many: to accept hell and become a part of it to the point of not seeing it anymore. The second is risky and requires constant attention and learning: seeking and being able to recognized is not hell, and make it last, and give it space.