Eraldo Affinati is the founder of the first Penny Wirton School in Rome, a volunteer-based educational institution where migrants can learn Italian. His approach to education is inspired by the work of Lorenzo Milani, who in the 1950’s and 60’s denounced the inequalities of an educational system that reinforced the marginalisation of children from poor backgrounds. In his latest book Il sogno di un’altra scuola – Don Milani spiegato ai ragazzi, Affinati explores the life of the “priest of Barbiana”, while reaffirming the ever-so-relevant need for inclusive education.
Eraldo Affinati, teacher and writer, is the author of the following books: Campo del sangue (1997); La città dei Ragazzi (2008); Elogio del ripetente (2013); L’uomo del futuro. Sulle strade di don Lorenzo Milani (2018); Tutti i nomi del mondo (Mondadori 2018). Together with his wife, Anna Luce Lenzi, he founded the Penny Wirton School in Rome to teach Italian to migrant communities.
Event in Italian with English translation.
FARE SCUOLA
Fare scuola (literally “to make a school”) is an Italian idiom which conveys a wide variety of concepts, including “to build knowledge”, “to invent a new way of doing something that others will follow”, “to inspire or become a model for others coming after you”. Someone who “makes a school” is a pioneer who gains the respect and affection of his followers – and rightly so.
Throughout September, Eraldo Affinati, Federico Fubini and Gianrico Carofiglio will be at the IIC to tell us about different ways of fare scuola: creating schools for immigrants (Affinati), reminding us of the power of education (Fubini), or stressing the importance of reasoning when looking at complex social events (Carofiglio). All these authors have fatto scuola, each in his own way. Let us find out how in this new series of events at the Italian Institute of Culture!
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