Thomas Ziehe (B. 1947)

Youth, Culture, & SchoolProgrammeClass discussion – the ideas of ZieheInterview (clip) + active listening“Centre the Circle”3 difficulties in the area of education according to ZieheA short clip concerning the concept of the panopticon

Themes and terms

Culture Detraditionalization

Informalization Self-worlds

Culture

• Popular culture is now the leading culture and is widely accepted by all generations

• Problem: The expansion of popular culture is relativating the position of high culture.

• High culture is being marginalized • The mental distance for young people towards high culture is

significant. High culture appears strange. • High culture is no longer the normative roof. You are not

supposed to relate to it. • The individuals become cultural self suppliers (constructing

self-worlds).

Self-worlds

• The change in the view of culture results both in more freedom but also more distance to other domains

• The self-world becomes the only criteria. • The self-world is a very artificial construction. • Self-worlds existed before but now they are in the centre so

to speak• A self-world is a construction of tunnels of relevance• They give an optional view towards the world• Paradox: more access to and a more liberal attitude towards

culture – at the same time greater danger of a narrow construction of self-worlds.

Detraditionalization

• Young people feel included in popular culture – but rather excluded from institutional culture

• The institutions no longer have the power to form the students– they are allowed (at least internally) to say “no”

• They can bring popular culture into the institutions

• School becomes informal. Both liberating and conflictive

Mental self-reference

• The modern mental self-reference means letting all expectations of and requests from the outside world pass through a subjective filter

• Self-reference and discussions of relations become part of everyday interaction

• In this way, the mental has become a public space.

• Aspire a certain type of self-doubt

Ziehe interview

• Active listening• Note what impact the changes in society

that Ziehe describes have on education and teaching (the changes in culture, tradition, etc.)

• What are the solutions?

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Center the Circle

• What part of Ziehe’s social diagnosis is still adequate today?

• Is his description of youth compatible with young people of today?

• Depending on your views what can you agree upon should be done by teachers and schools to cope with these challenges?

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Student product - classroom management – week 38, 2010

Ziehe – the optimist

• Before pointing out three difficulties concerning the above – a cognitive, a social, and a subjective, Ziehe makes clear that:

• He is pointing out difficulties in order to give a relief. • Relief for teachers to avoid resignation. To prevent the

thought of being a professional fiasco. Not a complaint.• Not trying to blame anyone.• Many adults have a complaint position and the children

are fed up with it. • The atmosphere in school must not be polluted by blame

Problem 1: Students are unused to cognitive strangeness

• Students less and less meet a strangeness they can accept.• Students search for an immediate relevance to their self-world• Quickly categorizes strangeness as being dull, senseless, or making them

feel uneasy. Students don’t know the language of school books (language barriers).

• Teachers try to make the contend plausible – they try to please the studentsPositive that the teacher tries to motivate.

• Students say less (even in universities). Results in teacher-centred teaching (involuntarily)

• “It was alright – why should we talk about it? • Problem with discursiveness. Felt as a problem for the young people.• Dream of transcending their own self-worlds. • They wish to learn how to enter a new discourse.

Problem 2: high level of informalization & under-structure.

• The informality comes to a degree that results in hard work for the teacher. • Phenomena of being under-structured• ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) becomes the “normal” way of being.• Students are skilful in areas as needed in games and on the internet but

struggle with structure (I.e. For instance structuring a text)• It is a problem to internalise institutional structures.

• Counter desires:- stable relations, integrations and support- for some sort of shielding in relation to continually being observed by society and authorities- for normative clarity, distinct rules of orientation, security and barriers

• Students can see that structures are a means to calmness.

The class photo as an exampleVordingborg 1.g. 1978

The class photo as an exampleFalkonergården 2. g. 1992/1993

The class photo as an exampleFalkonergården 2. g. 2007/2008

Problem 3: Motivational conflict or subjectivation

• The degree of self-observation is immense in today’s world.• High level of self-conversation (still young people are highly competent when dealing

with relations) • Harder to decide for something - harder to engage in something fully. • “It is of no use to listen to my inner voice – they are to many of them....“ • To motivate yourself is becoming hard work and this is the way school is going (more

democratic schools etc.) • Motivating yourself is exhausting. • Confronted with a shame-conflict (not the same as guilt - my wishes are not legitimate,

is it sinful) concerns self-value “Am I good enough?” • Change from a morale modus (what is forbidden) to psycho-hygienical modus (what is

good for your development) humane and nice but students feel exposed. • Abstract wish for being perfect – hard time to bear with an object that is not perfect

not tolerant to your own not-knowing. Teachers have a hard time being helpful without pressing too hard.

• Reverse wish: high longing for pride.

How to deal with difficulties in schoolDealing with strangeness

• Take them into account without blaming - work with the acceptance of strangeness.

• Do not only relate to self worlds. Use “well-dozed strangeness”.

• School should not excuse its own strangeness. • The teacher is a guide in strange sense areas (with tact,

making it bearable what students do not understand) . • Aim: To better the image of strangeness.

How to deal with difficulties in schoolUsing structure productively

• Structure does not have to be bureaucratic. But can diminish diffusion. Rules can be productive. Outer structures give chances to build up inner structures.

• Older generations deconstructured all the time. We must accept that the pupils of today do not feel that way.

• The teacher can be seen as a master of ceremony (setting up structure)

How to deal with difficulties in schoolNot fixating on motivation

• Put aside the ambivalence of the students. We should not fixate only on student motivation.

• Install an enjoyment for future learning.• The teacher is a bit of an actor. Needs style. • Animated to leave their self-world now and then • Graceful authority.

Panopticon