Old authoritarian raising methods are coming back…

Torment written by Ingmar Bergman.

[Updated and a little edited during the whole day]. From an article "Björklund more and more resembles a politician's Caligula" in which you can read that, with some right you can say that, Sweden’s leading school pedagogues are raging against the government’s school politics, or the lack of such politics:

The one and only solution are Nanny-ideals; more discipline, more grades, more tests. Something sounding like “the good old school, from the good old time”: the teacher standing in the teacher’s desk, pointers, chalk and detentions quite ironically.

On Wednesday Sweden’s current school minister Jan Björklund debated these things with the pedagogy professor Mats Ekholm in a morning sofa on TV (you can watch this debate here till March 18 2009 only).

Ekholm namely delivered a petition on the rigths of children to the school minister earlier this week, a petition that was sharply expressed.

All sorts of people (pedagogues, psychologists, grandparents, people in all sorts of occupations - and from abroad) have signed it protesting against the current government’s school politics. A reaction from the initiative takers of the petition leaning on decades of school studies, all showing the same thing, namely that demands only and slavish discipline doesn’t lead anywhere. My addition: probably causes problems instead, problems that can come much later too.

My comment: And it wasn’t much better earlier either according to a book about a study from the fifties on the discipline problems in the school then! Maybe these problems were of another kind then though, but discipline problems in the school are definitely not new!

It was long since one saw such a totally uninterested and arrogant politician in TV the author of the article wrote. Björklund openly derided the critics, cited deliberately the petition wrongly, ascribed Ekholm opinions he hasn’t expressed. Björklund lied casually for the viewers.

Ekholm and his colleagues are worried about the current societal climate and the climate of debate about children. Opinions, ideas and behaviors from people in power that has become more and more strict and a talk about the school and kids without nuances, about politicians in our current government talking about more punishments, new forms of being put in the corner for instance even though they are called something else (in a hope that this would cover what it's about up?).

According to the author of the article Björklund didn’t want any talk; he just wanted to pass his simple populist message to anxious parents forward; children need a steady hand, now we will get order. He knows that such messages go home in people. “Fuck pedagogy!”

And what was worse was that he didn’t seem to understand what use an intellectual talk about those things has. He didn’t even understand the problem formulation according to the article.

The author of the article thinks Björklund’s patronizing, superior politician style will become his flop sooner or later (my addition: it was authoritarian and arrogant!). Yes, I certainly hope so. To listen isn’t what he is best at.

See more about this petition in the earlier posting "Nanny-methods nothing for a democratic school...",

Addition just before lunch: And also see ”The obedience culture or ‘well intentioned’ violence…”; violence can be of other natures too, not only obvious, visible violence in form of spanking, but also in form of emotional abuse - and disrespect. See Andrew Vachss on this theme:

“...of all the many forms of child abuse, emotional abuse may be the cruelest and longest-lasting of all.”

"Emotional abuse is the systematic diminishment of another. It may be intentional or subconscious (or both), but it is always a course of conduct, not a single event. It is designed to reduce a child's self-concept to the point where the victim considers himself unworthy—unworthy of respect, unworthy of friendship, unworthy of the natural birthright of all children: love and protection."

And also see what Alice Miller’s for instance say, in the posting “Child abuse and politics…”

Now I have seen the talk on TV. Here are my notes: Björklund spoke about what’s “best for the children”! I was just taken aback with astonishment. Yes, he believes he is doing those things “for their own good”! And too many people think he is right, sounds reliable.

He also used the words or notions "order, peace and calmness" in school. And I don’t know if it was the programme leader or I who wondered

“But why ISN’T there calmness and peace? (And are, a little, noisy classrooms ALWAYS bad???)”

Then Ekholm tried to point out that a Markus Samuelsson has made a dissertation showing that it IS peaceful and calm in the schools and/or that many teachers CAN deal with things (with some exceptions. In the bottom of the linked site you find an abstract about his dissertation in English, and here is more information on this dissertation and its findings).

The topic or discussion why there isn’t peace and calm, when it in fact isn't, never comes up! And not either if it can be something good with children daring to talk, doing this frankly and openly! Or if we can (ought) to handle it (IF it is disturbing) without “stick and carrot” but in other ways! By the way, teachers over the world are reacting at the neoliberal winds in the school and what those mean for the school and all those working there (children and grown ups)!!

What outlook on children does Björklund have? Björklund has been talking about the importance of children getting “knowledge” in school. But he himself demonstrates the opposite; that he doesn’t respect findings from researchers and “people who knows”! And that he isn’t even familiar with what he is talking about (that he isn't familiar with school research for instance, i.e. the knowledge that in fact IS there!).

Ekholm tried to say that it’s important that we on a system-level have proper knowledge about how children are functioning (in different situations and respects, and that we want to learn more about this, MY addition).

Ekholm also tried to raise the topic what sort of public talk we ought to pursue in our/the society (a much more nuanced!!??), but with very little result or feedback from the school minister.

A retired university teacher, Pia Hellerz said something about frightening and alarming tendencies in our society, mirored in the school and the school politics, how we see children and the school and it's purpose. To use methods like disciplining, early grades and other control measures is to simplify for oneself she meant. So true!

And on top, Björklund said quite frankly that how the parents are raising their kids at home isn’t the politicians’ duty! They have nothing with this to do! With this he said, in my feeling and interpretation, that nobody (not we private people either belonging to the society too) except the parents have anything to do with how they are raising their kids.

What he is saying (as I see it) is that CHILDREN ARE PARENTS' PROPERTIES! But all adults, be it politicians or other people in the society, have the duty to speak up on behalf of other peoples' children when and if a child is badly treated, whether it's his/her own or another person's child, and certainly if a parent is treating his/her child badly (if we recognize this at all!!?? And not all do. We rather tend to minimize and belittle abuse, probably a lot of emotional, and both subtle and obvious abuse)!

But how parents are raising their kids are certainly their kids' business however!!??

Ekholm tried to squeeze in that he wishes we raise the demands even more on showing more consideration to children! Not the opposite! He didn’t get any response on this either from the school minister.

Yes, we ought to, IF we can! And why can’t we?

Albert Einstein:

"Modern education is competitive, nationalistic and separative. It has trained the child to regard material values as of major importance, to believe that his nation is also of major importance and superior to other nations and peoples. The general level of world information is high but usually biased, influenced by national prejudices, serving to make us citizens of our nation but not of the world."

"A human being is part of the whole, called by us the 'universe',
a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings,
as something separate from the rest -
a kind of optical delusion of consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us,
restricting us to our personal desires
and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison
by widening our circle of compassion
to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

We need to treat children with respect from the first beginning. But how should we actually handle a child showing disrespect? Who probably shows what he/she has been exposed to? Because how a child behaves is no mystery!? With treating it with more of the same? Is that the solution?

See Andrew Vachss in “You Carry the Cure In Your Own Heart. Emotional abuse of children can lead, in adulthood, to addiction, rage, a severely damaged sense of self and an inability to truly bond with others. But—if it happened to you—there is a way out.”

About the presumed discipline problems in the school in Sweden…

from the film Torment.

[Updated during the day and February 23]. In a review over a dissertation on “disturbing students, correcting teachers – about rules, expectations and teachers' correcting measures against disturbing girls and boys in the classroom” (page 90 in the linked Pedagogical Magazine) a Marcus Samuelsson at the University of Linköping writes that already 50 years ago the Swedish pedagogue and researcher Torsten Husén was asked to make an investigation on account of the upbringing, or education, crisis that took its expression in increased difficulties making the students adjust/adapt themselves to the norms of the school.

In the investigation that came 1959 you could read about the almost permanent restlessness in many classrooms.

Problems with discipline are thus nothing new here in Sweden. We all know that, basically, the reviewer thinks.

"Except for one or two leading school politicians, thinking everything was so much better before"

he adds quite ironically.

Yes, the school politicians in our current government talks a lot about "lacking knowledge" in our students (on all levels), but how is it with their own knowledge? And their respect for knowledge? With their respect and knowledge about how it has been actually and what science has shown so far? I wonder quite ironically too.

See www.teachersolidarity.com - the Global Assault on Teaching, Theachers and their Unions: Stories for Resistance. Something I would want to blog about later too.

Also see earlier blogpostings on "neo-authoritarianism".

Addition later during the day: strikes me that what our current leaders are showing is ignorance.

Addition February 23: read about Torsten Husén, a pedagogical thinker, here (in English).

Addition February 26: a female Gestalt-therapist and physician thought teachers in training should go through therapy... Yes, the idea is right, but what sort of therapy is offered, and with what sort of underlying ideas about the roots of problems?

Nanny-methods nothing for a democratic school...

Mary Poppins.

Mary Poppins:
[Spoken]
In ev'ry job that must be done
There is an element of fun
You find the fun and snap!
The job's a game

[Sung]
And ev'ry task you undertake
Becomes a piece of cake
A lark! A spree! It's very clear to see that

A Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
The medicine go down-wown
The medicine go down
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
In a most delightful way

A robin feathering his nest
Has very little time to rest
While gathering his bits of twine and twig
Though quite intent in his pursuit
He has a merry tune to toot
He knows a song will move the job along - for

A Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
The medicine go down-wown
The medicine go down
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
In a most delightful way

[Interlude]

The honey bee that fetch the nectar
From the flowers to the comb
Never tire of ever buzzing to and fro
Because they take a little nip
From ev'ry flower that they sip
And hence (And hence),
They find (They find)
Their task is not a grind.

Ah-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h ah!

A Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
The medicine go down-wown
The medicine go down
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
In a most delightful way

From one of my teachers’ papers today; the editor's chronicle “Nanny-methods nothing for a democratic school.”

Where you can read that the trend with harder grips against children in our society has got an against-reaction. The [Swedish] professors Mats Ekholm, Hans-Åke Scherp and Bengt-Erik Andersson have reacted strongly in a petition against super nanny methods like expelling, taking no notice of, and putting children in the corner - and against the government’s policy with harder grips in the school.

The professors want us to meet children and adolescents as we wish them to be – responsible taking, enterprising and critically reflecting. They also want that Sweden shall incorporate the UN’s child’s conventions in the Swedish legislations. And many agree with them. Almost 20,000 (6,000??) people have signed the petition Barnuppropet ”Barn har rätt – Lagstadga barns rätt att utvecklas med lust i trygghet!” or the Child Petition ”Children have the right – Lay the Children’s Rights to Development With Lust in Security Down by Law!”

That psychical abuse or mistreatment of children is sent as entertainment in TV and that the methods are taught on different courses, of course influences how we think and react the editor thinks [this was one of his better contributions, because I haven't been so fond of this newspaper and its tame and lame views, colored by this editor??]. The school and teachers are influenced by this too.

During the former century the Swedish society made a journey from an undemocratic society to a democratic. From an undemocratic school where the students were disciplined with violence to a school with a democratic and humane outlook on mankind.

This journey has been very positive for both students and society. Swedish students are frank, open and creative and they dare to call things in question they think are wrong. Swedish students don’t do their school tasks because they fear their teachers, but because they have an inherent lust to learn. This is an outlook on students and a school we shall take care of.

Do we really need sugar to help the medicine go down???

From the petition in my a little free translation:

“The former century’s big catchword – the child’s century [see pictures here from a series in Swedish TV on The Child's Century] – quickly disappeared from those in power and moulders of public opinion. The media producers use to send psychic abuse of children as entertainment. From the ideal of the Super nanny parents are taught to expel and ignore their child when it needs nearness and warmth. Standing in the corner is reintroduced but is called time-out.

Education programs are brought about for school and child care where the personnel are trained to discipline with authoritarian shutting off (suspension) and humiliating treatment. Instead of teaching children to respect themselves and other people it is raised to staking on own profits (gains): what can I loose or win doing as the grown ups want?

The government is walking at the head of a hardened fashion in meeting children and young people. In its rhetoric knowledge is honored. It would be valuable if the government uses systematic knowledge also in the education area [They ought use the knowledge that they say they honor - quite ironically!!]. Contrary to scientific findings punishment is advocated as a raising method, for example in form of detention./…/

Young people grow when they are put demands on and when they meet challenges in safe contexts, where it is allowed and desirable that they are learning by mistakes as well as ‘successful tricks’. Young people are growing best in circumstances when they are accepted/recognized and when their way of thinking and feeling is met with respect. We urge ministers/secretaries and other moulders of opinions ceasing to treat children and young people as less worth. Show them respect instead. Use science and well-tried experiences when initiatives are taken so that young people are allowed to develop from desires, joy and engagement in secure circumstances. Meet children and young people as we want them to be – responsible taking, enterprising, creative and critically reflecting.”

People having fun:

Stigma: ignorance, prejudice or discrimination…

I got this pdf-file from a friend and it looks very interesting! I haven’t read more than a few words, but want to save it here.

Manipulation...

taken yesterday at work.

Some thoughts thrown down just before work, when I moved between work-places now before lunch. In my excellent and fantastic English (I wonder if you ought to be quiet, k!!?? You ought to realize your limitations!? To be honest!? Quite ironic).

A method to punish a child is to surround it by silence, meet it with silence. And I think this is more horrible than we can imagine… A grown up needing to demonstrate his/her power in this manner… Grown ups can be met with this too!?

You can act old things out in different manners, aggressiveness in destructive or self-destructive behaviors. Some people (or all more or less) use both methods to different degrees?

And abuse is more than spanking. But does spanking result in another sort of suppressed anger? That takes its expression in aggression and brutality? Together with self-destructiveness of different kinds (for instance more successful suicide-attempts?). While other forms of abuse more result in self-destruction, self-harm of different degrees, but not as much in aggression and brutality?

On my way to the first school (on bike, icy roads):

You can manipulate in other ways too, not only with silence (ignoring the child till it changes) if “necessary”!? By instilling shame in children, for their natural needs, for their imperfection (they should realize their utter, enormous imperfection!!?? Taken out of the delusion that they are perfect!? Realize their utter limitations?), their reactions, thoughts, behaviors, way of expressing themselves, in all: their ways of being, how they are!?

All this is done in different manners, more or less subtle, some of these measures are aware and some aren’t aware? Both consciously and unconsciously done?

You can do this to other grown ups too!? Of shame on behalf (!!!) of them try to change them, or not even reply to what they say? You react to how they say it, not actually WHAT they are saying in some cases). What is this shame about?? What does it awoke? Honestly I don’t think I want to understand THEM (the ones feeling shame and needing to change one), but to understand the mechanisms and roots.

Is this for instance about feeling superior? Maybe even powerful, knowing, capable!??? And maybe this is entirely unconscious? But does this mean that you aren’t responsible for what it can cause??

And the one exposed to this sort of (conscious or unconscious) power game

Need to be very self-aware!? But how many are?

Yes, shame for others what is that actually about?

And why does a child behave in the way he behaves? What would a “natural” behavior be if the child wasn’t abused at all, or hardly at all??

And why does a grown up behave as he/she does? And if that person isn’t harming anyone… What’s the problem? Or does this person harm just by her/his way of being?? By instilling shame in its poor environment??

Where has Miller written about her experiences with the Wall of Silence?? I would like to come back to that, but now I don’t have time to look for that book. I believe it is in “Breaking Down Walls of Silence” (“Riv tigandets mur”)!? But the forum ourchildhood.int doesn’t live up to this? Miller approves of how people are treated there? People are me with silence, they have to figure out on their own why contributions are rejected, and in first hand also why they are rejected, when they are rejected. People aren’t informed about why they are rejected, and don’t get any opportunity to defend themselves… Miller also writes about our wish for an open, genuine communication…

Don't anyone wonder why people maybe are objecting and reacting? If there may lie something behind?

So who is manipulative?

And what is actually manipulative?

Jenson and Bosch on shame (and guilt). About the different expressions of Walls of Silence, or the theme Walls of Silence, see earlier postings here and here.

The text above was very swiftly written in a pause in work...Franz Kafka.

Addition in the evening: I found the text I thought of, where Miller writes that she experienced the Wall of Silence already in her childhood. Her mother used to meet her with silence for days in a row to demonstrate her absolute power over the small girl and force her to obedience. The small girls' needs, questions and suggestions were taken aback against this wall without forcing her mother to defend herself for this sadism, at all. The mother saw this attitude as a fair and well-earned punishment for offenses the small girl had done, as her duty to give the child a lesson. "For her own good!!"

As in Franz Kafka's "penal colony" the small child wasn't informed about her punishable offense(s). In this omission there was a message; if the child didn't even understand for what she earned this punishment she had no conscience!! Oh, horrible!! If she didn't understand then she had proved her badness!!

The child was pushed away, had to seek, do her utmost till her conscience (hopefully?? with a lot of iron) told her what guilt she had drawn upon her. Not until then she could TRY to apologize and dependent on the mood in the one in power, if she was lucky, maybe be excused!!

The child then couldn't realize that this was actually a (extremely) cruel and even sadistic behavior/treatment. She couldn't realize this on her own, no. She needed a grown up who could help her to see, at all see, even if she didn't get the help to question it and see it as unfair. She couldn't take the truth in with her feelings on her own for what her mother actually had showed (lack of love), instead she questioned her own feelings and natural (and adequate) reactions, than questioned her mother and her behavior, that what she did was wrong and unfair (to what extent it was wrong and unfair), that she in fact showed despise and contempt for the small child.

The child was left in "the/a prison of confusion" as Miller writes!!

Bosch is talking about a defense she calls the Primary defense (det första eller ursprungliga försvaret), in which the child blames herself...

See also Arthur Silbers Miller-essays where he often mentions not only Denial but also obedience (that the child is learned to obey from earliest in life) here and there in these essays (in my feelings) and what it results in later, in life and in the society!!

---

Miller skriver på sidorna 23 och framåt i sin bok "Riv tigandets mur" i kapitlet "Ur förvirringens fängelse":

"Tigandets mur [The Wall(s) of Silence] upplevde jag redan i min barndom. Min mor brukade möta mig med tystnad hela dagar i sträck för att på så sätt demonstrera sin absoluta makt för [och över!!??] mig och tvinga fram min lydnad. /.../ Den lilla flickans behov, frågor och förslag studsade tillbaka mot denna mur utan att min mor behövde försvara sig för denna sadism. Hon betecknade sin attityd som ett rättvist och välförtjänt straff för förseelser jag begått, som sin plikt att ge mig en 'läxa'. /.../

Liksom i Kafkas 'I straffkolonin' blev nämligen den lilla anklagade aldrig upplyst om sin straffbara förseelse I denna underlåtenhet låg ett budskap: 'Om du inte ens vet vad du har förtjänat detta straff för har du ju inget samvete. Sök, forska, ansträng dig tills ditt samvete säger dig vad det är för skuld du ådragit dig. Först då kan du försöka urskulda dig och beroende på makthaverskans humör kan du, om du har tur, kanske få förlåtelse."