Latin, Stem and poems by heart in upcoming school programmes

From next year, Latin will be studied as early as the seventh grade. While at primary school, memorized poems and summaries will return and cursive will be given extra emphasis. Not forgetting foreign languages, Stem subjects and computer science, which also means artificial intelligence. These are some of the cornerstones of the new national indications on the school curricula for the entire first cycle, from infancy to middle school, desired by the Minister of Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara, which - we can now say it - will come into force from 2026/27. With the favourable opinion of the Council of State, which arrived in recent days, everything is ready for their official launch. And, therefore, for the updating of textbooks in time for the spring adoptions.

There will be an extensive redesign. Let us start with Italian. According to the ministerial experts (a commission chaired by pedagogist Loredana Perla contributed to the new national indications, ed.) it will be necessary to strengthen, especially at primary school, cursive writing, calligraphy, which "is much more than a technique, it is knowing how to structure thought logically", the document explains. The new indications then attribute a key role to the exercise of summarising, which "teaches how to be clear, logical in identifying the essential parts of a text, brief in communication". Then comes the learning of poems by heart ("reinforces attention and enriches language", as Italo Calvino and Umberto Eco suggested in the past). In short, there is a move towards 'a solid and conscious linguistic and literary education'. With this in mind, grammatical 'rules' and the importance of syntax, for safe spelling, must be given centrality in the classroom. Not only that. With literature, the taste for reading is to be discovered: the integral reading of classics and good quality texts is to be promoted, discouraging anthological fragmentation, and encouraging discussion and comparison between different points of view. This is flanked by the return, starting from the second grade, of Latin (curricular and optional) in order to better know and learn the Italian language and its rules.

Turning to history, the horizon is the West, between Athens, Rome and Jerusalem. The Italian, but also European, and 'as far as it appears possible', world dimension is to be emphasised. Physical and political geography is also relaunched. One of the most significant novelties is the centrality given to the formation of 'spatial thinking' and the learning of the code of geo-graphics, through an expanded cartographic language that includes not only maps and globes, but also digital representations such as satellite images and Geographical Information Systems (Gis), flanked by photographs, audiovisuals, statistical data, literary texts or works of art.

Turning to Stem subjects, we are moving towards an integrated and interdisciplinary education, with a strong workshop approach. Computer science is to be introduced as early as primary school and the link with civic education and sustainability topics is strengthened.

The historical perspective of the disciplines is also re-evaluated. "An approach," says the ministerial text, "that allows us to understand how knowledge has evolved, recognising the role of critical thinking and error as central elements of progress".