As we know from the video that went viral in recent days, two teachers of a technical institute were attacked as they left school by a group of boys as a form of revenge for a reprimand given to them by one of them: he had thrown an empty can at a car. A stupid and rude gesture that any teacher would have commented negatively on, even if they were not inside the school (the boy was in fact at the bus stop).

The video, which appeared on all social media, shows that one of the two teachers was not hit (not due to lack of attempts by the children), while the other was belted. The severity of the attack remains the same: a student did not tolerate a reprimand and thought he could gather 6 friends to beat up the teachers.

Disciplinary sanction, but no criminal charges

The children were given a disciplinary sanction by the school (30-day suspension, which includes the obligation to take part in civic education activities), but they will not suffer any criminal consequences, because the two teachers chose not to press charges. One of them, interviewed by Courierstated that from his point of view it was a “confrontation that degenerated into an argument”, not an attack, as “the attack occurs between two entities that do not know each other when one of the two does not know the reason why it is being attacked”.

A questionable definition to say the least, it’s obvious that your brother can also attack you because you destroyed his car, and it’s not worth any less than a beating from a stranger. Besides, how can it be an argument if seven of them are waiting for you at the exit? However, it is true that the two teachers did not suffer any damage, not even the one who was hit; also for this reason the professor interviewed believes that we cannot speak of aggression.

The choice to educate instead of punish

However, the reasons behind the choice not to report are above all others, of an educational nature. According to the teacher, the complaint would be an unnecessary act that would bring excessive consequences for both the children and the school. They have already learned that consequences necessarily follow that action, given the public reaction and suspension. This is also not accurate, because only three of the boys were suspended; others don’t even attend that school, and maybe they will be punished by their parents, but they won’t see any “institutional” consequences.

The teacher also states that he considers the minister Giuseppe Valditara to be incompetent, in reference to his words on the need to stop justifying things and say no to aggression, but based above all on previous statements about the importance of humiliation in the educational process. In short, excessive severity would not be necessary and could actually be harmful; furthermore, for him it is also a question of principle, because he does not believe in the legitimacy of the party’s complaint.

The possible socio-cultural element

The topic actually deserves reflection, because if on the one hand the choice of the two teachers may be too good-natured, not incisive, on the other it is possible that they made a global assessment of the situation rather than stopping at the single fact. Valditara mentioned the difficulties due to integration, as these students are all second generation Italians, children of parents from North Africa; the teacher interviewed spoke of “kids in those conditions”, a phrase that can refer both to the absence of adequate education and to problematic situations at home.

It is therefore possible that from a human point of view it was preferable not to report, or that in general it was considered that for an attack without injuries it was not necessary to go that far; in fact, what is at stake is precisely the idea one has of education, and the role of schools and teachers in this area. Is it educational to resort to criminal justice with minors? Would their conviction really help them understand why they made a mistake? And, conversely, will the suspension (for those who received it) be enough?

Without fully knowing the specific cases it is difficult to formulate an opinion, but it is generally true that a teacher learns over the years that harsh punishments are often useless, while educational interventions are more effective. Certainly, the risk of underestimating the seriousness of the acts remains, as does the need to understand why incidents of violence in schools seem to be increasing.