Alberto becomes a hero by bringing his kids some pencils. They start to feel the thrill of simply being able to write their own names.

The kids have gotten to the point where they can write much more than their own names. But what then? Alberto comes up with a wonderful idea.

The director of the reformatory has done a bit of thinking and comes to see the boys, a rare occurence. Manzi, with his proverbial foot in the door, keeps trying to push it open even wider. There is news on the home front, too.

The reformatory director is clearly affected by what his inmates have written. Meanwhile, the magazine takes shape, involving getting it typed, collated, and stapled.

Alberto took a huge risk when he decided to take the boys to the seaside. In fact, he wasn't ready for how out of control they would be.

Alberto Manzi gets his degree after his oral exam defending his dissertation, but now he has some tough decisions to make about his future.

Alberto is doing the right thing, but it's not easy. He goes to the reformatory for a last meeting with the director. This is the finale of the first of two episodes in this mini-series.

Some years have passed since the first episode, and Alberto and Ida's family has grown. Alberto's friend Eugenio shows up one day with a very important gift for the family. Everyone is thrilled except for Alberto. Back at the university, where Alberto had accepted a job, his superior is interrupted in the library by someone looking for Professor Manzi.

It's the first day of school after the summer vacation and Manzi is getting his class together. There are some new kids and they aren't all made to feel welcome by the class. In Italy, in elementary school, at least at that time, it was customary for kids to have the same teacher every year.

Manzi, with Felice's help, eventually finds Ricotta and goes to see him. At school, Manzi makes waves with the director again. This time it regards little Giulia.

Ricotta follows his teacher's advice and goes with Felice to a garage where they are hiring. They immediately see why it's important to know how to read and write. At school, Alberto does an experiment with his students and tries to get everyone involved.

Ricotta and Felice rush over to Manzi's house to give them some good news. At school, Manzi and the principal clash over teaching methods.

The principal called on an inspector to evaluate how well Manzi's class is prepared. He is not very kind.

Not surprisingly, Manzi gets suspended and Bedon takes over, making the kids memorize a poem by Giosuè Carducci from 1872. Ricotta has a bad moment at the garage where he works.

Mr. Bedon asks the pupils for the dates of historical events but the only one who knows the answers is Giulia. Bedon thinks he can treat his pupils as he likes, but not everyone sits by quietly.