Ethical-social education beyond Philosophy for Children
Paola D’Ignazi
Based on a critical examination of Philosophy for Children, the article analyses tools and methodologies capable of responding to the aims of ethical-social education and the training needs of adolescents facing a complex and changing reality in contemporary society. The existential discomfort in youngsters and the confusion/loss of values is sometimes expressed through harmful and self-endangering behaviours. The interaction between the social sphere and the virtual sphere and the exposure to violent communication (hate speech), especially on social networks and new media, may lead to a normalization of such language, spreading aggressiveness and intolerance. Education in the ethics of communication and the acquisition of awareness of emotions is accomplished through conversation, since it enables the expression of a moral perspective, through talking about personal experiences and the meaning ascribed to them. However, the discussion is, first and foremost, a way to compare other points of view and other stories. This narrative approach is an invitation to think through story-telling — drawn from news reports, biographies, novels, theatrical plays, poetry, and films — which provide cognitive and symbolic tools, engendering, therefore, dialogue, through personal experience and the experience of others.
Keywords
Narrative approach, Ethics of communication, Dialogue.
