Rome, Montessori teachers against Valditara’s presence at the pro-Salvini sit-in. The principal: “Do not use the institute for political exploitation”

Twenty-nine high school teachers wrote a letter, published in the Fatto Quotidiano, to express their opposition to the presence of the Minister of Education in Palermo on the occasion of the Open Arms trial

ROME – “The Montessori high school has been involved in a political issue external to the school that has caused an injury to the dignity and professionalism of the teachers and on which I cannot refrain from intervening”. Thus begins a note released by the head teacher of the high school in Rome, Anna Maria De Luca. “Twenty-nine teachers out of 120 – he explains – wrote a letter published on Monday 21 October in the Fatto Quotidiano, then taken up by various sites, to express a completely personal opinion on the presence of Minister Valditara in Palermo on the occasion of the Open Arms trial, signing it ‘Teachers of the Montessori high school’. The letter has provoked dissent and disapproval in the community of teachers – made up of 120 professionals and not just 29 – who felt used, without their knowledge, for political purposes completely unrelated to the school and never shared collegially. As a school principal, since Monday I have been registering discomfort and frustration in the teachers who have found themselves involved in the use of the name of our high school for political purposes, an initiative perceived by them as arrogance, an abuse, a great lack of respect towards a community that should work in harmony: ‘abuse of the name of the Montessori high school’, ‘secret manipulation’, ‘lack of respect’ are the words that I am hearing most often. hearing in recent days following the letter”.

“As a school principal, I therefore feel the need to invite every person outside the school to respect the independence of our community from politics and not to interfere in any way with our daily lives. We must all fight to ensure that others can express their opinion, even if different, but in a personal capacity, certainly not involving the name of the institution in which they work. My message is clear: I do not intend to allow anyone to use the name of the school I direct to conduct political battles against the ministry. I underline this: all personal opinions are legitimate but no one is allowed to use the name of the school for political exploitation. It is my duty – concludes the principal – to protect teachers who feel offended by actions I do not share carried out with the name of our high school”.