Anxiety, agitation, and a hint of worry for students in Palermo. All understandable feelings in front of the most important exam they have faced so far. On the Island, there are 46,292 young people from state high schools, technical and professional institutes (41,952) and private schools (4,340) who today, June 19, tackled the first written test of the State exam for the school year 2023/24, identical in all institutions with a duration of six hours. Out of nearly 42 thousand high school seniors from state schools, Palermo and Catania are the provinces with the highest numbers, with 9,948 and 9,537 young people respectively. Following them are Messina with 5,020, Trapani 3,898, Agrigento 3,896. In Siracusa and the province, 3,253 students presented themselves, Caltanissetta 2,529, Ragusa 2,548, and finally Enna 1,323. Feasible and not complicated. This is how students defined the topics they encountered this morning, upon opening the ministerial envelopes. And even though the anticipated artificial intelligence was not present, the other topics were not so impossible. Italian literature enthusiasts could choose between Giuseppe Ungaretti with “Pilgrimage in the Life of a man. All the poems” and Luigi Pirandello with “Diary of Serafino Gubbio, Operator.”
The two authors were among those expected to the point of becoming a popular prediction. For the type B, a text, “Europe’s History” by the historian Giuseppe Galasso written in 1998 that prompts thoughts on the “cold war.” Pages that speak of how the destinies of great peoples and great cultural traditions have intersected and merged, giving birth to the modern civilization of science and technology. And all this continues to today, in the complex and fascinating page of the European Union and its problems in the world of globalization. Another theme for the “B” type is an excerpt from Maria Agostina Cabiddu in the Italian magazine of constitutionalists, which focuses on the awareness of the civil function of artistic heritage and the theme of beauty. The B3, which concerns art, features the words of Nicoletta Polla Marriot in “Discovering Silence. Art, music, poetry, nature between listening and communication.” This book is a journey, a path rich in pauses and stops, starting from a simple belief: silence is an art, with rules that can be learned, transmitted, and practiced. Rediscovering silence means, first of all, reconstructing a different relationship with the time of one’s experiences. For current events, Rita Levi Montalcini, Nobel Prize winner, appeared with a text on imperfection: it is an autobiography, an assessment of Rita Levi-Montalcini’s work, with ample space given to the discovery of Ngf and the research that led the scientist to receive the Nobel Prize for Medicine. “Imperfection,” says Montalcini, “has always allowed continuous mutations of that wonderful and yet imperfect mechanism that is the human brain. I believe that imperfection is more suitable for human nature than perfection.” Finally, a proposal on digital, selfies, and blogs could not be missing, reflecting on the change that diary writing has undergone.
“I spent the first night before the exams with my classmates at school, we sang and chatted. Then we returned early to be ready for the first test.” So said Mattia Carlo Sulli, a student at Cannizzaro High School. Some experienced the wait differently. “I spent a sleepless night, I’m agitated and slept three hours,” said Gioele Spadafora from Garibaldi High School, “despite this, I feel ready for this first test.” Other students preferred to distract themselves by watching TV series, but the result was not as hoped. “I watched a couple of videos to try to fall asleep earlier,” said Cristian Renna, a student at Garibaldi High School, “it didn’t help at all, I still went to bed at 3 in the morning, I’m tired but ready.” A special wish comes from the Mayor of Palermo, Roberto Lagalla. “To the Palermo students, engaged in their final exams starting today, I extend my heartfelt and sincere wishes,” said the mayor. “I wish all the graduates to face this test with confidence and the awareness that today marks the end of an important journey of life and education. The final exam represents a passage towards a new path, one that will lead to the realization of their aspirations. I also wish good work to all the teachers who will accompany the students during the exams.”
Palermo, l’ansia per l’esame nel giorno dei 10.000 maturandi: «Si chiude un percorso importante, e sulle tracce…»
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