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Pedagogics
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3.   SOME RESULTS OF THE PEDAGOCICAL APPROACH
Part 1
3.2   PEDAGOGICALLY MEANINGFUL WAYS OF LIVING
3.2.1   THE FUNDAMENTAL PEDAGOGICAL STRUCTURES
A
Pedagogical Relationship
Structure
(ways of living)
- Understanding
- Trust
- Authority
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B
Pedagogical Sequence
Structure
(ways of living)
- Association
- Encounter
- Engagement
- Intervention
- disapproval
- approval
- Return to association
- Periodic breaking away
C
Pedagogical Activity
Structure
(ways of living)
- Giving meaning
- Exerting
- Exemplify norms
- Venturing
- Gratitude
- Responsibility
- Hope
- Actualization
- Realization
- Dignity
- Self-knowing
- Freedom
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D
Pedagogical Aim
Structure
(ways of living)
- Meaningful existence
- Self-judgment and understanding
- Respect for human dignity
- Morally independent choosing responsible acting
- Norm identification
- Philosophy of life
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3. 2. 2 FUNDAMENTAL PEDAGOGICAL ESSENCES (The fundamental structure of a pedagogical situation)
3.2.2.1 Pedagogical relationship structure1
-   UNDERSTANDING (knowingly being together)
- Understanding-child-being (the adult must know the child(ren) entrusted to him). This knowledge emerges in accordance
with:
- understanding otherness (each child is someone who himself wants to be someone; therefore, the adult must try to learn to know each child)
- experiencing otherness (each child must feel and lived-experience that the adult takes into account the fact that he is different from others)
- interpreting potentialities (the adult must assist the child to discover and to understand his potentialities)
- developing potentialities (the child must be helped to exercise (control) his positive potentialities and in so doing allow them to develop)
- valuing potentialities (the child must be helped to appreciate and to value the talents which he has)
- Understanding-the-demands-of-propriety (Both adult and child are subject to certain demands and the child must be
helped to understand:
- authority of the demands of propriety (to be governed by particular demands, they must be understood and accepted)
- understanding the demands of being human (the requirements that must be satisfied in order to be considered a "proper" person must be understood and complied with)
- understanding responsibility (the obligation to choose and act must be accepted and an account of this must be given)
- understanding proper effort (the child must understand that he must always do his very best regarding the activities given to him)
- understanding obedience (the child must know that if something is required of him, he must obey)
- TRUSTThe being-together of adult and child in trust is characterized by the following:
- Regard-for-the-dignity-of-the-child ( Respect for the child as a fellow-person must be shown by):
- respect for otherness (observance of the fact that children differ from each other)
- regard for actualizing values (regard for the child as a participant in making a reality that which is of highest value)
- Acceptance Creation of a relationship with the child by showing:
- willingness-to-relate Eagerness to create a relationship with the child which involves:
- taking action (the child is influenced with the aim of supporting him)
- bonding (an intimate attachment is formed between adult and child)
- fellow-human (the child must always be related to humanly since he is no
animal or thing)
- address-listen (the adult must speak clearly with the child and listen
thoroughly)
- respect (the adult must handle with respect, appreciation and consideration
the child's wanting-to-be-someone-himself)
- being-partners ("Come stand by me so that I can help you.")
- being-accompanied (guided) ("Now go further with me"; i.e., yet nearer to
proper adulthood)
- being-a-participant (the child must be allowed to take an active part in
valuable activities)
- intention to care for (the child must experience that the adult gladly watch
over him by making the following possible):
- caring space (the child must experience that the home/classroom is a place
where he is gladly cared for)
- situation of acceptance (opportunities are created for the child to
experience that he is welcome)
- caring out of love (the child must experience that he is intervened with out
of good will toward him and not with ulterior motives)
- action-in-love A sincere kindness toward the child is evidenced by:
- making him feel at home (a place in which he feels at home--happy, at
ease--is especially arranged for him)
- establishing nearness (a personal nearness is established and feelings of
distance must disappear)
- admitting into our space (the child is admitted into a place with
someone with whom "we" can be mentioned)
- AUTHORITY The living together of adult and child with the demands of propriety is characterized by:
- "Telling" (the adult "tells" what is proper and the child allows himself to be persuaded by what is said)
- Being addressed (the adult talks clearly with the child about the demands of propriety)
- Being appealed to (an appeal is made to the child urging him to do what is proper)
- Obedience (the child is willing to listen to and carry out meaningful directions)
- Recognition of authority (the child sees in and gives to the adult the right to tell him what is proper)
- Complying with authority (the child must live up to the adult's explanation and example)
- Acknowledgment of the authority of norms (the authority of the demands of propriety is acknowledged)
3.2.2.2   PEDAGOGICAL SEQUENCE STRUCTURE2 The event of educating takes the following
course:
- ASSOCIATION The being-together of adult and child is characterized by the following:
- Being-by-each-other To be by each other means:
- temporality (adult and child are with each other at the same time, with
enough time, and with no generation gap)
- spatiality (adult and child are with each other in the same space)
- being aware of the presence of each other (both adult and child know
and feel that they can communicate with each other at the same time and place)
- The beginning of educating The being together of adult and child leads to:
- indications for intervention (indications can appear that possibly it will be
necessary for the adult to intervene with the child's choices and actions)
- general educative influencing by controlling (correcting) and
giving direction (because the adult immediately begins to set an example, to
supervise, and to point out what is proper, there is mention of educating)
- ENCOUNTER The being by each other of adult and child deepens according to:
- Being-with each other To be with each other means to actualize:
- pedagogic closeness (adult and child experience no distance between them
and that communication is possible)
- turning-to-in-trust (adult and child turn to each other so a face-to-face
relationship becomes possible)
- presence-in-trust (because of the face-to-face relationship, it is possible to
speak meaningfully with each other)
- experience of belonging (the child experiences, "I belong with you for my
sake." The adult experiences, "You belong with me for your sake." Both
experience, "We belong with each other for our sake.")
- experience of accessibility (the child and adult feel and experience that
one is open to the other. Both are accessible and available to each other)
- intimacy (sincerity, cordiality, and intimacy predominate)
- Similar disposition If teacher and child communicate in the same frame of mind (disposition), this will be shown in:
- mutual attunement (adult and child act within a cooperative frame of mind. There is harmony regarding their being with each
other)
- conspicuous attraction (adult's and child's attraction to each
other is such that it can be noticed)
- surprising degree of attraction (their attraction to each other really
comes from both sides and with the same goal, namely, authentic being-with-each-other)
- deep-rooted fondness (a good disposition and good will which are not
superficial prevail, and this leads to both wanting to be with each other)
- ENGAGEMENT The adult now assumes responsibility for the intervention with the child when he deems it necessary, and
the child takes responsibility for his share. This will be evident if the following are actualized:
- "might not" aspect (the teacher might not ignore the reasons which determine why he must intervene with the child's mode of living. The child might not try to escape the intervention)
- accepting responsibility (both adult and child accept responsibility for that which must still occur)
- stating the aim by the educator (clear awareness by the adult that progress must now begin in the direction of the aim which he has stated)
- obligation to be available (the obligation to be available to each other is accepted: the child to be guided and the adult to give
support)
- PEDAGOGIC INTERVENTION The adult acts to prevent the child from getting on the wrong track. This action can be
differentiated into:
4.1  Pedagogic disapproval
- Disapproval of objectionable values (the adult indicates that he has a dislike for that which is not proper)
- Experience of being opposed (doing the improper must be stopped)
- the adult must oppose (the adult appeals in explicit ways to the child to discontinue doing the improper)
- child acceptance of the opposition (the child accepts, usually gladly,
that it is right that he be opposed when doing what is improper)
- Presentation of new modes of living (something positive and feasible must now be considered in place of the improper)
- Change of direction toward new modes of living (the child is helped to move from the improper in the direction of the
proper which must replace the former)
- Break-through to the idea of propriety (if the above succeeds, what is proper will be seen clearly and doing what is proper
will be promoted)
- Increasing knowledge of good and bad (the result of the above five phases is that there will be an increase in the child's ability
to differentiate between right and wrong)
4.2   Pedagogic approval The adult acts in order to support the child in doing what is proper by allowing the following to
occur:
- Acceptance of approved values (words of praise are spoken to the child who does what is proper)
- Experience of being in agreement (doing what is proper must be commended)
- educator must be in agreement (the adult shows regard for the child
when he has chosen to act properly)
- child anticipates being in agreement (the child hopes that the adult
will approve of his proper choices and actions)
- Idea of persistence (the adult informs the child that he must continue to do in the future what is proper)
- Appreciation of ways of living (gratitude must be expressed to the child who persists in doing what is proper)
- Strengthening the idea of propriety (if the above occur, the child's understanding of propriety becomes continually clearer)
- Corroboration of the knowledge of good and bad (the effort of all of the above is that there will be an increase in the child's
certainty about what is right and wrong)
- RETURN TO ASSOCIATION The child must now find an opportunity to appropriate, in the presence of the adult, that which
occurred in implementing sequences A through D. For this, the following are necessary:
- Assimilating the intervention (the child thinks about the intervention and whether he agrees)
- Prospering of being someone oneself (the child finds an opportunity, independent of direct intervention, again to be
himself and to become)
- Experiencing freedom (he experiences freedom because now he himself must think and act, but he still experiences a
close connection with the adult who is present)
- Taking part in unintentional intervention (although the adult does not directly intervene with the child, he still exercises a
controlling influence because of the fact that he is present)
- Acquiring self-knowledge (because he is now dependent on himself, he learns to know himself better in light of what has
happened immediately above)
- PERIODIC BREAKING AWAY FROM ASSOCIATION The child must now find an opportunity to appropriate, in the physical
absence of the adult, that which occurred in implementing sequences A through E. Therefore, the following are necessary:
- Farewell (the child is bid farewell in a hearty way so he knows he can again confidently return later to the adult)
- Practicing separation (gradually the child becomes competent to independently choose and act)
- Loosening bonds (the bond of upbringing between the child and the adult gradually loosens as his independence increases)
- Affirmation of freedom (the fact that he is allowed to leave the presence of the adult--and other adults--is an acknowledgment that he is involved in winning his freedom)
- Longing to be someone oneself (he yearns to himself practice and cultivate his independence in the physical absence of the adult)
- Conquest of being dependent on support (to the extent that he succeeds in cultivating his independence, he conquers his dependence on adults giving support to him)
- Creative pause (during the absence of an adult, meaningful change is actualized as a change in his being on the way to proper adulthood)
- Yearning to associate again (the child experiences and moves to a time when he again will have a need for the support given by adults, and he will then return to their presence)
- Welcome greeting (the friendly greeting from the adult, which arises from the periodic breaking away, gives an indication
of the adult's willingness to once again cover the path of upbringing with the child)
3.2.2.3   PEDAGOGICAL ACTIVITY STRUCTURE3 The following are twelve pedagogic activities
which must effect the child under consideration.
- GIVING MEANING WITH INCREASING RESPONSIBILITY The child's world is everything that is understandable to him, what
has meaning for him. The practice of giving meaning and the expansion of his world occur as the following succeed:
- Attributing meaning (meanings are given to persons, things, events, etc.)
- Testing meanings (the child must be helped to test if the meanings he attributes are correct and appropriate).
- Lived-experiencing meaning (the personal meaning--meaning-for-me--of what is valuable must be accepted and felt)
- Living meanings (the child must be helped so that what is really meaningful--important, valuable--becomes part of his way of life)
- Meaningful acts (meanings, the valuable, must be transformed into acts, and in this connection, the child must receive meaningful teaching)
- Meaning elevation (the teacher helps the child give meaning on yet a higher level. He must give meaning in accordance with his level of becoming)
- GRADUAL BREAKING AWAY FROM LACK OF EXERTION The child must be helped to use all of his power and to do his very
best at everything he engages in, and this requires that the following be actualized:
- Movement toward exertion (lack of exertion must be abandoned for a willingness to doing meaningful deeds)
- Dynamic taking part (energetic and active participation in meaningful deeds must be expected of the child)
- Conquering passivity (to not want to proceed and act with others must be disapproved, and the child's efforts to become involved must be agreed with)
- Choice for exertion (by intervening when passivity enters and by agreeing when the child chooses to be actively involved
promotes a preference for exertion)
- EXEMPLIFYING AND EMULATING NORMS To want to live--choose and act--in accordance with particular demands of
propriety requires that the following be done:
- Unconditional norm identification (the child must accept and appropriate that which is of highest value. He must be helped to live the acknowledged philosophy of or outlook on life)
- Taking a view toward a philosophy of life (to an ever increasing degree, the child must be helped to know, to support, and to apply a philosophy of life to his way of living)
- Judging from a standpoint (one's own choices and actions are viewed in light of a philosophy of life. Increased knowledge of a philosophy of life by the child ought to lead to a more refined judging)
- Living the demands of propriety (that which is highly valued--deciding what is proper, fitting, and reasonable--must be
evidenced in the child's way of living)
- VENTURING (RISKING) WITH EACH OTHER PEDAGOGICALLY The child must be helped to venture with another (an adult) to
a proper way of living. This means he must attempt to do the following:
- Co-meaning (to search with others, especially adults, for what is really meaningful--valuable)
- Living together according to the demands of propriety (to be willing to try to live in accordance with the proper examples set by others)
- Courageously venturing with (with bravery and even boldness, together with the one who sets the example, the proper
must be chosen, action must be in light of the proper)
- BEING GRATEFUL FOR PEDAGOGICAL SECURITY To live with gratefulness, thankfulness, requires the following:
- Experience of security (whenever he has the need for it, the child must have the opportunity once again to feel secure before he will again venture into reality)
- Gratefulness for the experience of security (the child should be grateful to those who make the experience of security possible because he appreciates what they have done for him)
- Security because of acceptance (in reality, it is the acceptance of the child which leads to the experience of security. The essentials of acceptance must be actualized)
- Loving presence (action-in-love which is characterized by being with each other and by similar dispositions are
appreciated by the child)
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR EDUCATIVE RELATIONSHIPS The child must be helped in an increasingly responsible way to feel:
- Respect-for-partner (the child should have respect for those adults who assist him. He also must experience that they are ready to assist him with respect for his being human)
- Respect-for-accompanier (the child should have respect for those adults who are ready to venture on his path of life with him and who always treat him in decent ways)
- Experience of belonging together (there should be respect for those adults who always proceed with him in light of his own nature)
- Obligation to be accessible (the child should respect adults who are open to and appreciate him and who appreciate his
openness to them)
- WANTING TO ATTAIN FUTURE ADULTHOOD The child expects that the adults will help him with the following, and he has
trust in those who can rightly accomplish this:
- Notion of the future (the child clearly anticipates what is possible and has an image of the future approaching him)
- Interpretation of the past (the child expects that an interpretation of the meaning of his own past holds true for the future life he wants to attain)
- Direction to the future (the child anticipates being assisted to start moving in the direction of a future which holds only the best for him)
- Discussions about the future in the present (the child anticipates help with the different decisions he must continually make regarding his future)
- Working on the future in the present (the child anticipates help in his preparation for the future)
- Understanding future demands (the child anticipates help in understanding the demands which might be made on him in the future)
- Speaking about the future (the child anticipates that there will be discussions with him about the future--the immediate
as well as the remote future)
- ACTUALIZING POTENTIALITIES FOR ADULTHOOD The child must be helped to form his positive potentialities (talents) with
an aim to the future and, therefore, the following are necessary:
- Longing for the future (a desire to not want to live in the past or to be smug with what has been attained to date, but always to live better)
- Reality as new possibility (each new milestone which is achieved must be seen and accepted as a new beginning for further improvement)
- Using potentialities (the talents the child has at his disposal must be used. He must control them so they can be cultivated fully in the future)
- GRADUALLY ACHIEVING ADULTHOOD Gradually and in an ever increasing degree, the child must realize that he has a
calling to fulfill, and the adults help him with this by making the following possible:
- Being directed by destination (the child's striving to let his potentialities adequately unfold must continually be nourished, and this is done by helping him see that his talents must be used)
- Moving toward destination (the child's calling ultimately is to be a proper person and for this he must be helped in responsible ways)
- INCREASING RESPECT FOR HUMAN DIGNITY For the child to increasingly feel respect for the dignity of a person, he should
have sufficient opportunity to experience the following:
- Acknowledgment of individuality (persons are not identical because each actualizes values in different ways and with a difference in responsibility. This difference must be acknowledged)
- Respect because of actualizing values (all persons are of equal dignity because all can actualize values)
- Valuing a concern for values (the child is concerned with values and must not be used as a means to an end)
- Meeting obligations (to fulfill obligations, thus to meet obligations with respect for the highly valued, is to live with human
dignity)
- ACHIEVING ADULTHOOD THROUGH INCREASED SELF-UNDERSTANDING Adulthood is characterized by a high degree of self-understanding. Self-understanding is exercised when the child has the opportunity to engage in:
- Critical self-judgment (a clear look at one's way of actualizing the highly valued)
- Understanding being called upon (a clear idea that he is called on to put into service his positive potentialities for the actualization of what is highly valued)
- Understanding the demands of propriety (a clearer knowledge of the demands which actualizing the highly valued make on him)
- Understanding obligations (an increasing understanding of his positive potentialities and the obligations these lay on him)
- Refinement of self-understanding (an improvement in his self-understanding, especially from an understanding of how
he can, in the best possible way, contribute to the actualization of the highly valued)
- CONQUERING OF RESPONSIBLE FREEDOM The conquering of freedom toward responsibility is characterized by:
- Conquering freedom (without external compulsion, the highly valued must be lived on the basis of one's own choices and efforts)
- Freedom as being bound (to be bound to the highly valued makes enslavement by the unworthy impossible)
- Being aware of freedom (the idea that it is possible and necessary to be free and to turn from that which is unworthy)
- Being aware of responsibility (the inescapable idea that to really be a person means to take responsibility)
- Responsibly deciding (personal responsibility is assumed for the actualization of the highly valued)
- For a complete description see:
- Landman, W.A., S. G. Roos, C. R. Liebenberg, op. cit., 17-24, 60-84.
- Landman, W. A.: Leesboek vir die Christen-opvoeder, N. G. Kerkboek-handel, Pretoria, 3rd expanded edition, 1974, 22-24.
- Sonnekus, M. C. H.: Psigopedagogiek: ‘n Inleidende oreintering, University Publishers and Booksellers, Stellenbosch, 1973, 42-51.
- Landman, W. A., C. J. G. Kilian: Leesboek vir die opvoedkundestudent en onderwyser Juta, Cape Town, 1972, Ch. 1.
- Viljoen, T. A. and J. J. Pienaar: Fundamental pedagogics, Butterworths, Durban, 1971, 41-56, 60-68.
- Kilian, C. J. G. and T. A. Viljoen: Fundamentele pedagogiek en fundamentale strukture, Butterworths, Durban, 1974, 122-124,
162-184.
- For a complete description see:
- Landman, W. A., S. G. Roos, C. R. Liebenberg, op. cit., 24-40, 84-89.
- Landman, W. A., op. cit., 24-25.
- Sonnekus, M. C. H., op. cit., 51-61.
- Viljoen, T. A. and J. J. Pienaar, op. cit.,56-60.
- Kilian, C. J. G. and T. A. Viljoen, op. cit., 184-204.
- For a complete description see:
- Landman, W. A., S. G. Roos, C. R. Liebenberg, op. cit., Ch. 4.
- Landman, W. A., op. cit., Par. [1.1] and Ch 2.
- Sonnekus, M. C. H., op. cit., 65-66.
- Kilian, C. J. G. and T. A. Viljoen, op. cit., 204-230.
To "Some results of the pedagogical approach" Part 2
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