First of all educational emergency, to point out the novelty of this issue, its appearance in a strong way so much so that is has become necessary to activate containment strategies and challenge of degenerative phenomena, of which bullying is just a symptom.

In the past too, education was never a quiet subject, for the simple fact that every generation of youth has had its surprises, its transgressions, its hard-nosed confrontation with the adult world, its tears.

This is the second term we have in mind, and that seems to say: you have to hurry because there is no time to lose, we're reaching a point of no return and need to immediately remedy the situation. What can we say? Emergency has not always make things right, especially from the right side. The urgency, in most cases, is no friend of reflection and thought, is geared to the action, to stop the excesses of the time, instead of open road ahead, and sometimes promotes the rehabilitation of the models education -although questionable- of the past. The urgency and the simplification often go hand in hand, leading to a confrontation with the issue of education which is only declamatory on one side, or interventionist on the other. Nobody denies that there is an effective emergency at the same time, it should be noted that this situation has degenerated in recent years and may even appear out of control, and does not get back on track with slogans or pure magic.

The fact of urgency, because without doubt leads to an increase and an accumulation of concerns, not always translate into "taking action"

It is the third expression to be examined. A challenge to whom? But before that, initiated by whom? The risk of partial or sectorial response at this level, is present. The fault - they say - is the chaotic world of media and false models proposed. Or the blame is the lack of motivation of teachers and the superficiality of the students. Or, the fault is the fragility of youth and immaturity of adults. A sort of blaming each other, looking for a scapegoat against which to point the finger and, finally, condemnation. Once again, the complexity of the issue, which is an essential element of postmodern age is forcing us to keep the judgement pending as long as possible. Not because there are no suspects, but much more, simply because there are too many intertwined with each other, and it is very difficult to untangle the mess. It is not with summary executions that things are corrected.

While once education was a clear responsibility which was carried out by itself, almost as part of the social system (basically, was the society as a whole to educate), but today is a challenge, a reality to understand again and reformulate. A challenge to any field, from all angles and all parties, without exception. That brings us to share with a touch of perspective: this is the invitation of the French sociologist Edgar Morin to "all who have the task of teaching [which becomes for us to educate "] take on the advanced positions of the uncertainty of our time." Not to encourage it but to cross it.

It's another expression that is the most popular. It is understood that education is in crisis, though, so that it appears to be a rather crude and inaccurate argument. Here I am referring to the words of Angelo Scola, Patriarch of Venice, in response to a question about today's widespread temptation to abandon the task of education, says: <The lack of confidence comes from a fact well illustrated by a statement of Peguy: "The crisis of education are not teaching crisis, report, represent life crises and themselves are life crisis." I mean that there is never, properly speaking, an education crisis, the "educational " crisis, but in reality a crisis of life. Where there is not an adjusted life, itself can not communicate anything, you can not teach anything to young people>.

Someway, the Patriarch implies a reset of the problem on a technical and practical level, returning in the vital heart of relationships, lifestyles, ways of life, the meanings and the meaning. This sensitivity leads to a declination in the category of testimony in its entirety, human and Christian.

But now let go to a most characterized expression, by the fact that it has behind a long history.

This is the title of one of the most incisive books written by Don Giussani, a priest of Desio who has dedicated his life to the training task. The educational activity is the introduction to the full experience of reality, and in its essence, the educational link connects two free subjects - the teacher and student - involved in a relationship that imposes the reality. Initially, the risk is the excessive involvement: the teacher who first respond to the invitation of the truth, exposes himself to the young man who will be educated. Then there is an intangible risk of a response that might not come, of a consensus that might be denied, or a freedom that can not be possessed and that decides otherwise. This means that the educational task involves dramatic features, because its outcome is not predetermined, so is not out of place, much less emphatic to speak about "educational adventure."
It is easy to understand the connection of this position with our theme: the education is based on the link, neither extrinsic nor formal, between two parties. It also requires an educational and positive will l, that doesn’t want to take advantage of others, but rather wants to fully encourage its liberty: the right expression to indicate this intention could be "liberating freedom."
Although at this point opens the difficult chapter of the different ways of understanding freedom in post-modernity, where it is seen / understood as the absence of ties, there are also less likely to connect and then the training process. The educational risk also relates to reality, the educational force of the real, but today, as our experience every day, reality is distorted, misinterpreted, and there are many who prefer the shortcut and the niches of the virtual. There's more, because the post-modern thought not only leads to a manipulation of reality, but goes further to dissolve the real in the infinite game of interpretations. There is no reality to interpret, but there are only endless interpretations of reality.

It is the ultimate expression of our series. Some time ago was not even necessary to talk about it, since the society was oriented in a united way towards the same purposes. There was no conflict between family, church and school, and each person could count on the other, if not for the content, surely for formative methods. Today, this homogeneity of intents is only a dim memory, and without neglecting any exaggeration that this situation could lead (do not forget, I repeat, the limits of certain teaching styles of the past), we must recover and re-launch some synergies. School-family dialogue, as important as problematic, the school-church dialogue, limited by the concept of "new secularism", as formulated by Cardinal Angelo Scola: the relationship of church family, for a collaboration that can be fruitful one.