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26 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 DECEMBER 2018 OPINION Evarist Bartolo The love and standards approach to education Evarist Bartolo is Minister for Education and Employment Rokit crosses genre boundaries with award-winning novel LORANNE Vella's Rokit, published by Merlin Publishers, won the National Book Prize 2018 in the category Novels in Maltese and English against the run of play. The final results have been close to call until the very end of the adjudi- cation deadline. The odds were higher for other participants, and in particular Gioele Galea with the deep mystical and spiritual musings in his memoir Tħabbat Xtaqtek (Horizons). With this rare book in the Maltese literary canon, Galea gave a new voice to Maltese literature by producing a humbling, moving, deeply introspective spiritual memoir that is delivered in a poised and paternal writing away from the well-known patronising tones of similar literature. Yet, albeit such a decision-making process is by definition a complex endeavour, particularly when it involves high-level competitors, the National Book Prize judges eventually had no doubts and bestowed the prize upon Loranne Vella. With Rokit Loranne Vella distinguished herself with yet another prize-winning novel that crosses genre boundaries between adult and young adults fic- tion. Vella is well-known for her trilogy It-Triloġija tal-Fiddien, a fantasy saga co-written with Simon Bartolo. Aimed at teenagers, Vella and Bartolo's trilogy was an all-out bestseller that also captivated an adult audience. This time round, Loranne Vella wrote a novel for adults – which unwittingly reads like a coming- of-age novel for teenagers. Rokit has all the ingredients to make it an appealing read to teenagers and adults alike. Benjamin, one of the main characters of the novel, leaves his house during his teenage years to join the resistance in a world fraught with chaos, war and climate catastrophe. The story is based in the late 21st cen- tury Malta, which has by then reverted back to foreign subjugation. Malta begins to be gradually depopulated due to forced migration, and the island is beset with food-shortages, a total ban on electronic communications, and desert storms. The setting is dystopian, but the narrator of the story, who eventually reveals herself to be a protagonist in the story, keeps the tone of the narrative optimistic and friendly, leaving the reader hoping for a positive closure to the dramatic story. Although the setting and the back- ground of the story is dark and the characters live in oppressive conditions, they have close relationships and warm feelings towards each other while enjoy- ing a certain degree of freedom through- out the story. In brief, by not offering an Orwellian dark atmosphere, Rokit proves instead to be a fantasy novel with an adventurous spirit, in which the element of fantasy manages to leave a glimmer of light in the darkness. The narrator does not go into detail on the political, social and economic ramifications of the background setting. The narrator prefers to focus more on the development and emotions of the characters, thus making the novel even more accessible to young readers. As Benjamin comes of age, we learn of his feelings towards his father, his mother, his family, the world and himself. We get to know of his struggles. Through the interesting interaction between characters, whose relationship unfold and develop along with the plot, the reader is led to a fantastic ending through a dystopian and chaotic laby- rinth of events. The plot is enticing and not too overtly complex, which allows the reader to be curiously left wondering what happens next. Halfway through the novel the reader gets to finally encounter the rocket that gives the title to the novel, and to understand its important signifi- cance to the story. Loranne Vella has established herself as one of the major Maltese novelists for teenagers and made her name in the fantasy genre – a somewhat endear- ing feat considering how challenging it may prove to be to win the attention of teenagers. The adult fiction genre today is becom- ing increasingly difficult to tag as age brackets in novels tend to have looser age limits, and young readers tend to access adult fiction at an increasingly younger age. Loranne Vella has successfully created a fantasy genre for adults that is more accessible to young adults and a page-turner, proving once again that classifying a title into just one genre can straight-jacket it and limit its appeal. THE saying goes that it takes a community to raise a child and an interesting social initiative in Como, Italy, has taken this ap- proach to affect social progress. I had the pleasure to visit Cometa this week and it's truly a remarkable place where a simple idea back in 1987 has changed into what they them- selves define it as a 'city within a city'. Cometa offers foster care and housing support as well as educational and job growth opportunities. It is not simply a place where you're given sup- port because its ultimate scope is to develop a growth mind-set attitude. This is very important both from an educational aspect as well as a social one. More often than not we focus too much on just the technical abilities of an individual, often forgetting that a social dimen- sion also requires important things such as the ability to live and work together, the ability to deal with problems, the ability to learn something outside one's direct skill-set as well as the knowledge to assume respon- sibility for life decisions. These are things we often learn from our own family while growing up, or perhaps within social circles, but for many people, especially those with difficult childhoods, these are basic things which they may have missed out on. It was great to watch young people, some of whom had to overcome the difficult social realities of their past, learn and grow together. The pro- grammes are mostly vocational and applied, with a particular focus on textiles, hospitality and catering, carpentry and tour- ism. Despite the social context, the programmes are intense and for the strong-willed. They are not mercy-programmes to give young people a certificate, but quality education with high standards. The young people are helped throughout the journey, but the responsibility towards standards in their work does not go amiss. I would describe the educational experience as one where love, social care and standards are intertwined to provide a meaningful future. In many ways what Cometa is doing is the same path that we're looking at through My Journey. We've already intro- duced vocational programmes over the past years and in the upcoming scholastic year we will be taking another important step with the introduction of more vocational and applied programmes in secondary schools. People whom I met during my visit at Cometa have emphasised the importance of reality in education; that of pro- viding an education which is in tune with the realities of the real world. The cherry on the cake in this beautiful experience is the happiness of the young people. How can you create an educa- tional programme, especially a social one such as Cometa's, if you do not have the well-being and happiness of those par- ticipating in this programme? The work-rate and intensity of the programmes meant that confidence-building is embed- ded into the idea itself, because once boxes are ticked and the momentum of the programme builds up, the achievements help create a boost of confi- dence for the youngsters. This is so important and something we often underestimate. Building confidence in someone is prob- ably one of the most important achievements of any educational institution. What we are doing in Malta and Gozo through the removal of the one-size-fits-all model to a more open and opportunity- based model is helping reach different abilities, because we are ultimately all different. I often cite the example of how someone learns to measure. You can learn about measuring and centimetres from a book. Oth- ers prefer learning by cutting a piece of wood in two perfect halves. Is one better or worse than the other? Aren't both cases learning how to measure? It's a case of to each his own – and this is exactly what we're after. It's not a matter of which is the best – academic, voca- tional or applied education. I think the ideal would be to have a mix, but ultimately we need to provide equity and excellent standards throughout and help students find their own path and guide them towards what is the right mix for them. Mark Camilleri is the Executive Chairman of The National Book Council Mark Camilleri