The first book by School Director Antonella Di Bartolo.
“I know that this may sound wrong to all those who work in school day after day as teachers, but I would still like to recommend that this job be pursued for its positive aspects, seeing the immediate results of the intellectual and emotional growth of our students. And to achieve this, I believe we have to focus on emotions, both those of our students and ours [...]. We must be ready to accept new challenges, emotionally, too.”
It's what had always been asserted by Tullio De Mauro (Torre Annunziata, 1932 - Rome, 2017) and is now superbly interpreted by Antonella Di Bartolo, teacher, director and author. We recommend her first book, entitled “Domani c’è scuola” (There’s School Tomorrow - Mondadori, Milan, 2024), to any educator, especially those who feel they no longer have the energy to fight. It’s an intense story of passion and civil service, written in the first person, but also a choral work, as Antonella explains how she learned work as a team, at home, at school, and in offices. It’s a highly emotional work that presents a profound awareness of strong, difficult, complex, and risky decisions. Indeed, they are often solitary decisions that are later adopted by the educational community, as she narrates in the chapter on Mothers at School.
The scenario is the Sperone neighbourhood in Palermo, an area where there are no squares, only crossroads. “Perhaps, this is why our school became a public square,” explains Antonella who was assigned the Istituto comprensivo Sperone-Pertini as her first post as a director, along with the “condolences” of the Regional School Department. In the course of just a few years, the school was transformed and reduced its dropout rate from 27 to 1%. Those who teach at this school do not arrive here per chance. “I arrived here as a twenty-year-old who in Palermo, in 1992, witnessed the devastation of the Capaci and Via D’Amelio massacres and the assassination of Father Puglisi in 1993,” explains Antonella with a certain emphasis on the back cover. And throughout the book, Antonella introduces new people, especially teachers, who are not there by chance, each with their own personal and professional history.
We met Antonella when she participated in the adventure of Project OpenSPACE. Then, in 2019, the jury of the Global Junior Challenge assigned her the “Tullio De Mauro Award for Innovative and Inclusive Schools” for her vision of “participative courses towards new visions.” And her commitment continues day in and day out, stronger than ever.
We hope that Antonella’s book will help you rediscover how civil passion can be contagious and exciting. Remember that, wherever we are, “there’s school tomorrow.”
We wish everyone a great school year!
The cover of the book was inspired by the "Io sono te" mural painted by artist Igor Scalisi Palminteri in the Sperone neighbourhood. "I dedicate this painted wall to my daughter, who today is five, and with her to all the children in this city. They are our only possibility of creating a new vision, a Palermo that can look with joy to beauty and the future."
