Suspended from school, immersed in life

On July 30, the Council of Ministers definitively approved the regulations reforming the conduct grade and the assessment system for secondary school students. The measures will be effective starting in the 2025/2026 school year. Students who receive a failing conduct grade will fail their year. Students who receive a 6 will be held back until September, and their admission to the next grade will depend on a paper on active citizenship. The role of student sanctions has been revised: instead of suspension from classes, there will be solidarity citizenship activities at organizations or associations. We have contacted those who are already doing this.

"At first, I was afraid I'd be judged for my mistake. I thought I wouldn't find any welcome, but instead I was surprised by everyone's kindness: the staff, the people with disabilities, everyone who helped make this experience one of the most beautiful of my life." Davide , a fictitious name, is one of the 55 young people who, since last January, have taken part in the educational project that the Don Gnocchi Foundation and the Matteo 25 Committee have launched for suspended secondary school students .

Instead of staying at home or alone in a classroom, these kids are placed in one of the Foundation's teams that care for the most vulnerable: the elderly, people with motor or cognitive disabilities, and those with mental health issues. A concrete path of active citizenship, transforming into an opportunity something that would otherwise be perceived as a punishment and nothing more. But what remains for these kids in the end? "I will miss the words of those who challenge themselves to say a simple 'hello,'" says Davide. "I'm sure that after I finish my schooling, I'll return, because the bond I've created with them is something I can't forget."

Of course, not everyone decides, like Davide, to volunteer or engage in other forms of civic engagement, but that's not the purpose of the project: "The goal," explains Roberto Perillo , coordinator of one of the four day centers for disabled people at the IRCCS Santa Maria Nascente – Don Gnocchi in Milan, "is to create the conditions so that the kids who come to us come into contact with responsibility and discover what it means to be active citizens." This doesn't mean "changing" the kid: after all, "it's impossible to work miracles in one, two, or three weeks at the most."

Often these kids aren't used to feeling valued. Here, however, no one will emphasize the things they "got wrong." Instead, their merits and progress will always be emphasized.

Monica Malchiodi, head of volunteer services at the Don Gnocchi Foundation

Since the project launched in December 2023, 98 children have participated. "Of these, only one did I say to, 'We're not really good enough here.' All the others leave here happy," reflects Monica Malchiodi , head of volunteer and community service at the Foundation. She is responsible for the initial reception of the children. In addition to introducing them to the facility and the project, her real task is to contact their families to better understand who they will be dealing with. The Foundation has no contact with the school of origin: with the approval of the student's family, the school contacts the Matteo 25 Committee, founded and chaired by Father Fabio Ferrario, who then contacts Don Gnocchi and provides the staff with the student's profile and the reasons for the suspension. It is Malchiodi who, through dialogue with the family, seeks to better understand the student's profile in order to devise the most appropriate path for them.

The first obstacle, and there's no point in pretending it's not there, is engaging the kids. They rarely come enthusiastic about this idea and immediately struggle with some of the rules. Among them is the requirement to leave their cell phones behind for the entire duration of the activity, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. "There's often initial resistance; I've even had people tell me, 'You're taking ten years off my life.'" That's why it's important to have a parent present on the first day, whenever possible, so we can clearly share the goals, rules, and operating procedures of the program, says Malchiodi.

The second obstacle, however, is the initial impact with the reality they find themselves facing. "It's happened that, when faced with a person with a disability, someone would say, 'I'm amazed that I can do this,' even if it was something so trivial. After all, many of these young people with disabilities and fragility have never come into contact with them before," Perillo observes. Step by step, however, a familiarity with the context is created.

I used to see people with disabilities as somewhat incapable, due to the limitations that disability imposes, now I see them as people. Coming here changes your mindset, which is why I would recommend it to my peers; in fact, I'd like to take my entire class there.

Alessia

"The first day was incredibly awkward," says Alessia (also a fictitious name). She's not here because she was suspended, but because she knew about the project and, having a difficult time at school, asked to participate. "I felt uncomfortable because, not being used to frequenting these places, it was as if I couldn't understand them. Little by little, I've changed my perspective: if before—I admit—I saw people with disabilities as a bit incompetent, due to the limitations that disability imposes, now I see them as people: each with their own world behind them, with their own way of communicating and their own pace. Simply put, I no longer get nervous if someone takes so long to write, speak, or anything else. Coming here changes your mindset, which is why I would recommend it to my peers; in fact, I'd like to bring my entire class here."

Almost all of the children report this kind of feedback. A significant shift in perspective, which can come even in just the few days they attend the Foundation, simply because they are supported by a team that knows how to strike the right chord. "These children are often unaccustomed to feeling valued. Here, however, no one will emphasize the things they 'did wrong'; rather, their merits and their progress will always be emphasized," explain Perillo and Malchiodi. The fact that the "accompanying reports" returned by the staff to the school describe extremely well-behaved and helpful children, whereas the suspension report described them as unruly and unruly, speaks volumes about the immediate impact of placing a child in meaningful and relational contexts, where, above all, they feel seen differently.

This article was published in VITA's magazine for adolescents, Adolescents, What We Don't See . If you have a subscription, read it here now (and thank you for your support!). If you'd like to subscribe, click here. At VITA, we've also addressed the hot topics of conduct grading and the effectiveness of a mandatory social activity (which is different from service learning) in these other articles:

– Conduct Grades, a New Law for an Old Pedagogy , with Italo Fiorin– Volunteering for Those Suspended? Valditara Is Wrong to Make It an Individual Issue , with Ivo Lizzola– Volunteering? You Learn in School– The School of Nostalgia That Punishes Without Educating , with Alex Corlazzoli– We Are a Country That Doesn't Believe in Mass Education , with Elisabetta Nigris

In the photo, the Don Gnocchi Foundation team that follows the children on suspension from school who participate in the project