Jonathan Borg

Faculty of Education; University of Malta (Malta); jonathan.borg@um.edu.mt

REVIEWED BOOK

Amenta, G. (2025). Il rispetto violato: Docenti maltrattati, studenti maltrattati. Mondadori Education. 160 pp. € 10.99. ISBN-13: 9791220602983.

Giombattista Amenta’s Il rispetto violato emerges as a significant contributor to contemporary educational discourse, tackling the under-discussed challenging reality of student mistreatment and educator abuse. This book arrives at a crucial moment when educator burnout and student misconduct have escalated to emergency levels. Amenta approaches this sensitive subject with both academic rigour and practical insights.

The book is systematically divided into nine comprehensive chapters, each organised into carefully structured paragraphs and sub-sections. The smooth writing style of these chapters simplifies complex psychological and pedagogical concepts, offering a practical read for all educators.

Amenta skilfully grounds this book in documented real-life scenarios of teacher mistreatment where the educator is demoralised and humiliated. The book identifies behaviours that can potentially undermine authority and the educators’ self-esteem, but it goes beyond that. It critically explores the concept of educational authority and its influence in the education process, offering teachers practical strategies to help them regain their dignity.

Amenta’s arguments go beyond the school’s boundaries. He highlights broader societal issues that affect the dynamics of student-teacher relationships in educational settings. Specifically, the author emphasises the family’s role, pointing to excessive leniency and the exclusive shift of educational responsibilities to schools as main contributors to this crisis. The author also recognises the psychological impact of abusive student behaviour on teachers’ collegial relationships and their interactions with the leadership team, emphasising the importance of supporting and fostering defensive psychological mechanisms that can help teachers protect their profession in hostile environments.

This book’s final message is powerful. Amenta urges teachers to embrace their mission during this unprecedented crisis as he reminds them how knowledge and experience are essential tools that can help them regain their students’ respect. To achieve this ‘professional renewal’, Amenta recommends ongoing professional development, a dedication to the educational mission, and active engagement in the school community. While maintaining a realistic perspective on the ongoing challenges teachers face in the classroom, the author adopts an optimistic outlook, encouraging teachers to turn these challenges into pedagogical opportunities.

In the face of students’ overwhelming misconduct, Amenta’s book arrives as a ray of light, offering teachers hope through practical recommendations. Although the book’s focus is specifically on the Italian educational context, the principles discussed and their concrete implications hold universal relevance. Teachers, school leaders, policymakers, and parents can find the emerging recommendations valuable as they seek to understand the complex dynamics of modern education. In conclusion, the greatest strength of Giombattista Amenta’s Il rispetto violato lies in how it equips educators with resources to elevate and restore teaching to a respected and honourable profession.