Our Approach - In Dialogue with Oneself and the World
The human being lives in dialogue with oneself and with the world. Existential pedagogy empowers children and adolescents to enter into a free exchange with both their inner and their outer world. What matters here is not what we desire from the world (a stance of wishing), but the answers we give to the questions of life (a stance of response).
Our Attitude – Providing Grounding
Educators carry their person as their most important “instrument of education.” This key position requires an ongoing engagement with oneself – with one’s own feelings, patterns, expectations, and attitudes. Since every child is unique and every situation is different, there can be no universally valid instructions for action. The challenge for educators is to encounter the child as person. An upbringing that is primarily guided by the question of “what should be done with the child” rests instead on a mindset of feasibility and control.
Not the Same: Person and Behavior
Unconditional appreciation of the person does not mean remaining passive toward a child’s avoidant behaviour or possible psychodynamics. What is central here is the distinction between the person – who is to be valued under all circumstances – and a challenging behaviour that may need to be worked on. The essential task is to invite the child to take a stance toward their behaviour and to accompany them step by step in the direction of the change they aim for.
Our Pedagogy – Not “Making”
We cannot make the behaviour of a person, of a child – and therefore we cannot change it – if the other is not willing to engage in the process. Change can only come from the person themself. This applies especially in the case of challenging behaviour. A first step is the effort to perceive comprehensively and to understand deeply, on the basis of relationship, on the part of the educator.
Our Question – What does this child need from me now?
This guiding question of Existential Pedagogy becomes the starting point for educational action. With this question we make ourselves aware: it is about this child in their individual uniqueness, about what is present and needed in this very moment, and about our personal response to this child and this situation. In this way, we bring ourselves into play as educators – with our experiences, our values, our attitudes, and our dispositions.
Our Encounter – At Eye Level
Relating to the inner sensitivity of every human being requires perceiving the child in their person, understanding them in a deep sense, and taking them fully seriously – meeting them “at eye level.” Here, we rely on relationship, encounter, and appreciation of the person. We ask: What is? What is revealed? What does it point to?