Il primo da marito e moglie, il quarto insieme!!!
16/2/09
29/10/08
destroying our education system and public research
Education International Internationale de l'Education Internacional de la Educación
Pan-European Structure
STATEMENT BY EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL AND ETUCE ON THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT’S SCHOOL PLAN
Brussels, 20 October 2008
Education International and its EU organisation the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) wish to express their serious concerns over the ongoing attacks on teachers and the national education system which are being made currently by the Italian government.
The President of the Italian Council, Mr. Berlusconi, and the Italian Minister of Education, Ms Gelmini, have launched unilaterally a "reform" of the education system, without any consultation with the stakeholders in education and wittingly avoiding a necessary in-depth discussion in the parliament. The purpose of this "reform" has nothing to do with an improvement in the education system and all to do with major budget cuts which the Italian government wishes to make. The Government wishes to reduce the education budget by more than €8billion and cut more than 100,000 jobs in the sector over four years. This will lead to a significant increase in the number of pupils in each classroom, and to the abandonment of programmes for pupils with special needs. Such a move is indefensible and will undermine the quality of public education in Italy. This decision by the Italian government is even more difficult to understand when Italy is ranked last of the OECD countries regarding national expenditure on education (OECD, 9 Sept. 08).
Choosing to undermine the quality of education for short-term budgetary reasons is a policy which cannot lead to any sort of good result, especially in a European context, in which a high-quality education system is widely seen as a top priority for a sustainable economy.
Instead of moving towards a modern high-quality and efficient education system as the European context requires, the Berlusconi School Plan will turn the clock back to a time when over-crowded classes were taught only in the morning by a single teacher. These budget cuts and school time changes will also severely undermine the teachers’ working conditions and therefore the attractiveness and overall efficiency of the Italian education system.
Education International and ETUCE are also concerned with measures in the Italian government’s plan regarding Higher Education and Research. The plan endangers the competitiveness and the attractiveness of Italian Higher Education and Research by making unwelcome budget cuts and by trying to install more political control of universities and research institutes. An independent Higher Education and Research sector functioning with sufficient resources is an essential element of the economic competitiveness and educational infrastructure of a country and an absolute pre-requisite in today’s Europe.
Finally, willing to turn schools and universities into foundations managed by private boards under private control, is an assault by the Italian government against education as a public good, of un-precedented magnitude in Europe.
Education International and ETUCE wish express their full support to their Italian member organisations, who have jointly called for action against the Berlusconi School Plan and notably for national strikes on 30th of October and 14th on November 2008.
The teachers’ trade-unions organisations, both at national and international level, will act together and use all possible remedies to stop this extraordinary and unwarranted attack on teachers and the entire education system currently in Italy.
5, Bd du Roi Albert II, 8th 1210 Brussels, Belgium Tel +32 2 224 06 11 Fax +32 2 224 06 06 headoffice@ei-ie.org http://www.ei-ie.org EUROPEAN REGION President Ronnie Smith Vice-Presidents Paul Bennett Odile Cordelier Kounka Damianova Jörgen Lindholm Galina Merkulova Ulrich Thöne Deputy General Secretary Chief Regional Coordinator Charlie Lennon 5, Bd du Roi Albert II, 9th 1210 Brussels, Belgium Tel +32 2 224 06 91/92 Fax +32 2 224 06 94 secretariat@csee-etuce.org http://www.csee-etuce.org General Secretary Secrétaire général Martin Rømer Treasurer Trésorier Walter Dresscher
News
[2008-10-17] EI supports its Italian member organisations' call against dismantling of education
Education International its EU organisation, the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), strongly support the call by their Italian member organisations - the Federazione Lavoratori della Connoscenza (FLC-CGIL), the CISL-Scuola and the UIL-Scuola for action against the plans by the government to dramatically downsize the education sector.
As part of the measures to increase the coffers of government by cutting down public spending and increasing income taxes, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi plans to get rid of teachers in most specialised subjects and pare down primary school classes to one teacher each, starting in 2009. The reform would also cut the school week by almost half, inconveniencing working parents of Italy's 2.8 million children aged 6 to 10.
Reverting back to an outdated schooling model
If turned into law, the reform is essentially reverting Italy's education sector to a schooling model cast aside 30 years ago. It will perhaps help save 8 billion Euros a year for Europe's most-indebted country, according to Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini.
But, according to the teachers, it will ultimately ruin the future of the next generation. FLC-CGIL General Secretary Joëlle Casa says at least 140,000 jobs, including 80,000 teaching positions, will be cut. This means that assistance to children with disabilities will disappear, class sizes will increase significantly and some schools will have to close down, making travelling distances for some children much longer.
The reform will not only affect primary and secondary schools. It also aims to reduce one-third of the current resources allocated to public universities, and will reduce at least 10% of their research staff.
Teachers rise in protest
To show their discontent towards the plans, which are currently under debate in parliament, teachers greeted returning pupils wearing black when the school year started on 15 September. An all-night protest was held on 2 October in 25 primary schools in Rome. Despite these protests, the government is showing neither signs of backing down nor any willingness to enter into discussion with the teachers.
Difficult times ahead for teachers, pupils and parents
"It is insane to presume teachers can take twice the workload with half the resources," stated FLC-CGIL’s Casa. "Especially when class sizes are already on the rise and teachers across the country are facing difficulties coping with the workload, such as the increased scope of the lessons, or giving special attention to children speaking Italian as a second language."
At present, as many as three teachers take turns with the lessons, and the school runs from 8:30 till 4:00 in the afternoon. As of 2009, classes will be run by one teacher working a 24-hour week, similar to the schedule three decades ago, and lessons stop at 12:30.
Working parents will find it hard to cope with making a living and taking care of their children. Apart from having to look for childcare facilities, which are few and expensive in Italy, working mothers will not be able to choose to work part-time by law as is currently the case, but will be subject to the decision of their employers. Other measures, such as stricter conditions for medical leave and parental care, will add to the burden of working parents.
Italy is last in education spending
According to the "Education at a Glance 2008" published recently by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Italy ranks last, behind the Czech Republic, in public spending on public education: less than 10 percent of its total public spending in 2006. It also ranks 23rd behind Slovenia in teacher pay: a primary school teacher earns on average 21,257 Euros a year.
National strike on 30 October
To prevent such destruction to the education sector which will destroy the lives of teachers, children and parents, the three teacher unions are organising a nationwide strike from 30 October.
"This government is destroying our education system," said Casa. "And by the same token, violating the fundamental principles of the Italian constitution."
EI strongly supports its member organisations' strike action and urges other member organisations to show their support to Italian colleagues.
"In these times of global financial crisis, it is the duty of governments to support their people, not destroy the vital public services upon which families and communities depend," commented EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen. "It is both unjust and cruel that education should be sacrificed to increase the country's financial resources, while tax cuts are being given to the rich."
EI and ETUCE published a joint statement on this assault on education on 20 October.
Pan-European Structure
STATEMENT BY EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL AND ETUCE ON THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT’S SCHOOL PLAN
Brussels, 20 October 2008
Education International and its EU organisation the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) wish to express their serious concerns over the ongoing attacks on teachers and the national education system which are being made currently by the Italian government.
The President of the Italian Council, Mr. Berlusconi, and the Italian Minister of Education, Ms Gelmini, have launched unilaterally a "reform" of the education system, without any consultation with the stakeholders in education and wittingly avoiding a necessary in-depth discussion in the parliament. The purpose of this "reform" has nothing to do with an improvement in the education system and all to do with major budget cuts which the Italian government wishes to make. The Government wishes to reduce the education budget by more than €8billion and cut more than 100,000 jobs in the sector over four years. This will lead to a significant increase in the number of pupils in each classroom, and to the abandonment of programmes for pupils with special needs. Such a move is indefensible and will undermine the quality of public education in Italy. This decision by the Italian government is even more difficult to understand when Italy is ranked last of the OECD countries regarding national expenditure on education (OECD, 9 Sept. 08).
Choosing to undermine the quality of education for short-term budgetary reasons is a policy which cannot lead to any sort of good result, especially in a European context, in which a high-quality education system is widely seen as a top priority for a sustainable economy.
Instead of moving towards a modern high-quality and efficient education system as the European context requires, the Berlusconi School Plan will turn the clock back to a time when over-crowded classes were taught only in the morning by a single teacher. These budget cuts and school time changes will also severely undermine the teachers’ working conditions and therefore the attractiveness and overall efficiency of the Italian education system.
Education International and ETUCE are also concerned with measures in the Italian government’s plan regarding Higher Education and Research. The plan endangers the competitiveness and the attractiveness of Italian Higher Education and Research by making unwelcome budget cuts and by trying to install more political control of universities and research institutes. An independent Higher Education and Research sector functioning with sufficient resources is an essential element of the economic competitiveness and educational infrastructure of a country and an absolute pre-requisite in today’s Europe.
Finally, willing to turn schools and universities into foundations managed by private boards under private control, is an assault by the Italian government against education as a public good, of un-precedented magnitude in Europe.
Education International and ETUCE wish express their full support to their Italian member organisations, who have jointly called for action against the Berlusconi School Plan and notably for national strikes on 30th of October and 14th on November 2008.
The teachers’ trade-unions organisations, both at national and international level, will act together and use all possible remedies to stop this extraordinary and unwarranted attack on teachers and the entire education system currently in Italy.
5, Bd du Roi Albert II, 8th 1210 Brussels, Belgium Tel +32 2 224 06 11 Fax +32 2 224 06 06 headoffice@ei-ie.org http://www.ei-ie.org EUROPEAN REGION President Ronnie Smith Vice-Presidents Paul Bennett Odile Cordelier Kounka Damianova Jörgen Lindholm Galina Merkulova Ulrich Thöne Deputy General Secretary Chief Regional Coordinator Charlie Lennon 5, Bd du Roi Albert II, 9th 1210 Brussels, Belgium Tel +32 2 224 06 91/92 Fax +32 2 224 06 94 secretariat@csee-etuce.org http://www.csee-etuce.org General Secretary Secrétaire général Martin Rømer Treasurer Trésorier Walter Dresscher
News
[2008-10-17] EI supports its Italian member organisations' call against dismantling of education
Education International its EU organisation, the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), strongly support the call by their Italian member organisations - the Federazione Lavoratori della Connoscenza (FLC-CGIL), the CISL-Scuola and the UIL-Scuola for action against the plans by the government to dramatically downsize the education sector.
As part of the measures to increase the coffers of government by cutting down public spending and increasing income taxes, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi plans to get rid of teachers in most specialised subjects and pare down primary school classes to one teacher each, starting in 2009. The reform would also cut the school week by almost half, inconveniencing working parents of Italy's 2.8 million children aged 6 to 10.
Reverting back to an outdated schooling model
If turned into law, the reform is essentially reverting Italy's education sector to a schooling model cast aside 30 years ago. It will perhaps help save 8 billion Euros a year for Europe's most-indebted country, according to Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini.
But, according to the teachers, it will ultimately ruin the future of the next generation. FLC-CGIL General Secretary Joëlle Casa says at least 140,000 jobs, including 80,000 teaching positions, will be cut. This means that assistance to children with disabilities will disappear, class sizes will increase significantly and some schools will have to close down, making travelling distances for some children much longer.
The reform will not only affect primary and secondary schools. It also aims to reduce one-third of the current resources allocated to public universities, and will reduce at least 10% of their research staff.
Teachers rise in protest
To show their discontent towards the plans, which are currently under debate in parliament, teachers greeted returning pupils wearing black when the school year started on 15 September. An all-night protest was held on 2 October in 25 primary schools in Rome. Despite these protests, the government is showing neither signs of backing down nor any willingness to enter into discussion with the teachers.
Difficult times ahead for teachers, pupils and parents
"It is insane to presume teachers can take twice the workload with half the resources," stated FLC-CGIL’s Casa. "Especially when class sizes are already on the rise and teachers across the country are facing difficulties coping with the workload, such as the increased scope of the lessons, or giving special attention to children speaking Italian as a second language."
At present, as many as three teachers take turns with the lessons, and the school runs from 8:30 till 4:00 in the afternoon. As of 2009, classes will be run by one teacher working a 24-hour week, similar to the schedule three decades ago, and lessons stop at 12:30.
Working parents will find it hard to cope with making a living and taking care of their children. Apart from having to look for childcare facilities, which are few and expensive in Italy, working mothers will not be able to choose to work part-time by law as is currently the case, but will be subject to the decision of their employers. Other measures, such as stricter conditions for medical leave and parental care, will add to the burden of working parents.
Italy is last in education spending
According to the "Education at a Glance 2008" published recently by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Italy ranks last, behind the Czech Republic, in public spending on public education: less than 10 percent of its total public spending in 2006. It also ranks 23rd behind Slovenia in teacher pay: a primary school teacher earns on average 21,257 Euros a year.
National strike on 30 October
To prevent such destruction to the education sector which will destroy the lives of teachers, children and parents, the three teacher unions are organising a nationwide strike from 30 October.
"This government is destroying our education system," said Casa. "And by the same token, violating the fundamental principles of the Italian constitution."
EI strongly supports its member organisations' strike action and urges other member organisations to show their support to Italian colleagues.
"In these times of global financial crisis, it is the duty of governments to support their people, not destroy the vital public services upon which families and communities depend," commented EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen. "It is both unjust and cruel that education should be sacrificed to increase the country's financial resources, while tax cuts are being given to the rich."
EI and ETUCE published a joint statement on this assault on education on 20 October.
2/10/08
...almost time to close this wedblog
we enjoyed a lot to have contacts with all of our friends abroad but time runs and we're thinking to remove it from the net...
let us know in the guestbook if we're doing the best thing!
.JPG)
28/8/08
21/8/08
18/8/08
21/7/08
13/7/08
FUNICULI' FUNICULA'...in JAPANESE: Genial!!!!
| Original Aieressera, oì nè, me ne sagliette, Japanese Oni... no pantsu wa ii pantsu-- Translation Oni underpants are good underpants, Original tu saie addò? tu saie addò? Japanese tsuyoi zo! tsuyoi zo! Translation They're very strong! They're very strong! Original Addò 'stu core 'ngrato cchiù dispietto Japanese Tora... no kegawa de dekiteiru-- Translation They're made from tiger skin, Original farme nun pò! farme nun pò! Japanese tsuyoi zo! tsuyoi zo! Translation They're very strong! They're very strong! Original Addò lo fuoco coce, ma si fuie Japanese Go-nen haite mo yaburenai-- Translation Wear them for five years, they won't tear-- Original te lassa sta! te lassa sta! Japanese tsuyoi zo! tsuyoi zo! Translation They're very strong! They're very strong! Original E nun te corre appriesso, nun te struie, Japanese Jū-nen haite mo yaburenai-- Translation Wear them for ten years, they won't tear-- Original 'ncielo a guardà! 'ncielo a guardà! Japanese kusai zo! kusai zo! Translation They're very smelly! They're very smelly! |
5/7/08
GREETINGS FROM JAPAN...
our last days here...today and tomorrow Hiroshima and Miyagima isle then to Osaka and flight back to Italy via Paris...
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