Updating Pedagogy in a Changed World

Leonardo Boff

10/10/2010

Opinión

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Centuries of wars, confrontations, fights between peoples and class conflicts leave us with a bitter lesson. This primary and reductionist method has not made us more human, nor brought us close to each other, and least of all, has it bought us the peace that is so greatly desired. We live in a permanent state of siege and are filled with fear. We have reached a historic phase that, in words of the Earthcharter, «calls us to a new beginning.» This requires a pedagogy, founded on a new consciousness and an inclusive vision of the economic, social, cultural and spiritual problems that challenge us.

This new consciousness, a product of globalization, of the Earth and life sciences, and also of ecology, is showing us the path to follow: to understand that all things are interdependent, that even opposites are not outside of the dynamic and open Whole. Because of that, rather than separate, we must integrate, include instead of exclude; recognizing differences, yes, but also seeking convergences, and instead of win-lose, to seek the win-win solutions.

This holistic perspective is influenced by the education process. We have an unforgettable teacher, Paulo Freire, who taught us the didactic of inclusion, and to use «and» were we had previously put «or». We must learn to say «yes» to everything that makes us grow, in both the small and large dimensions.

Fray Clodovis Boff accumulated much experience working with the poor in Acre and Rio de Janeiro. In the tradition of Paulo Freire, he gave us a little book that has become a classic: How to Work with The People. And now, facing the challenges of the new world situation, he has created a small decalogue of what could be a renewed pedagogy. It is worth transcribing and consideration, because it can help us, a great deal.

«1. Yes to the process of concientizacion, to the awakening of the critical consciousness and the use of the analytic reason (the head.). But also yes to the sensible reason (the heart) where values are rooted and from which the imagination and all utopias are fed.

2. Yes to the social or "collective subject," to "us" as the creator of history ("no one liberates anyone, we all liberate ourselves together."). But also yes to the subjectivity of everyone, to the "biographic I", the "individual subject" with its references and dreams.

3. Yes to the "political praxis," transformer of structures and generator of new social relations, of a new "system." And also yes to the "cultural praxis" (symbolic, artistic and religious), that "transfigures" the world and creates new meanings or, simply, a new "vital world."

4. Yes to the "macro" or societal action (in particular, the "revolutionary action"), that acts on the structures. But also yes to the "micro," local and community action ("molecular revolution"), as the base and point of departure of the structural process.

5. Yes to the articulation of the social forces in the form of centralized and "unifying structures". But also yes to its articulation by "networks," where through decentralized actions, each knot becomes a center of creation, initiative and of interventions.

6. Yes to "criticism" of the mechanisms of oppression, to denouncing injustice and "the work of the negative." But also yes to "alternative" proposals, to the positive actions that set up the "new" and foretell a different future.

7. Yes to the "historic project," to the concrete "political program" that points towards a "new society." But also yes to the "utopias," the dreams of the "creative fantasy," the search for a different life, in short, for a "new world."

8. Yes to the "struggle," to work, to the effort to progress, yes to the seriousness of "the commitment." And also yes to "gratuitousness" as it is manifested in play, in free time, or simply, in the joy of living.

9. Yes to the ideal of being a "citizen," of being a "militant" and to "struggle;" yes to the one who, with enthusiasm and courage, becomes totally involved in the cause of the humanization of the world. But also yes to the figure who "encourages," to the "comrade," the "friend," in simple terms, yes to the one is rich in humanity, in freedom and in love.

10. Yes to an "analytical" and scientific conception of society and its economic and political structures. But also yes to a "systemic" and "holistic" vision of reality, seen as a living totality, dialectically integrated in its various dimensions: personal, generic, social, ecologic, planetary, cosmic and transcendent.»

- Leonardo Boff, Theologian, Earthcharter Commission.

(Free translation from the Spanish by Servicios Koinonia, http://www.servicioskoinonia.org. Refugio del Rio Grande, Texas, EE.UU.)

https://www.alainet.org/en/articulo/144742