In our contribution both the vulnerability as well as the strength of minors, children and adolescents form the starting point for a reflection on the ethical foundations of the educational relationship. The expression ‘vulnerable children and adolescents’ usually makes one think of the concrete situations they find themselves in, and likewise of certain characteristics and behaviours by which they are typified.
Without minimising this factual vulnerability, we search indeed for a deeper, more essential vulnerability that is inherent in every pupil, child or adolescent. Inspired by the thought of the Jewish philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas (1905-1995) we would like to demonstrate how this principal vulnerability sets us on the tracks to the ethical foundation of every form of educational relationship based on responsibility. Thus it will be made clear how this responsibility stands or falls with the institution of the prohibition against violence and abuse of power. We shall call this the aspect of ‘safeguarding’. At the same time, on the basis of the equally essential strength of the face of the other, the ethical mastership of the pupil or minor, child or adolescent, will be made clear. Thanks to this mastership the positive dynamism of educational responsibility can be developed, up to the radical idea that education likewise implies a responsibility for the responsibility of pupils, both for themselves as well as for others, and indeed based on their stature and in accordance with their growth. In short, the concept of a multi-faceted educational relationship will thus unfold wherein not only safeguarding but also liberation for freedom and responsibility will be given their indispensable place.
Index
- Introduction
- 1. The radical otherness of children and adolescents
- 2. The dynamics of the educational face-to-face as ethical crisis
- 3. The ethical dynamics of the educational face-to-face as bidimensional responsibility
- Conclusion: The ethical, i.e. safeguarding and liberating dimensions of the educational relationship
Reference time period: 1905 – 1995
R. Burggraeve, “The vulnerable mastership of children and adolescents. In search of the ethical foundations for an educational relationship based on responsibility“, in “Forum salesiano“, 16/01/2020, <https://sites.google.com/site/forumsalesianoitaliano/documenti/berlino>. (Ultima consultazione: 17/05/2024).