“Watching the bombing of Gaza and seeing the devastation of the buildings hourly on news channels is horrific,” writes Mark Potterton at Daily Maverick.
“The scenes of adults and young people running into hospitals with young children covered in dust and blood are even more heart-rending…. What are we telling our children when regional and world leaders are powerless to put a stop to this deliberate ongoing death and destruction?
“The brutal killing of 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October 2023 must be strongly condemned, and Hamas must regret that action, which has led to such unimaginable devastation. But the disproportional Israeli response cannot easily be morally justified,” Potterton explains.
“Watching so much trauma on our television screens cannot be good, especially for young children,” he continues. “With older children and young people, we need to discuss what we are seeing and reflect on what is happening, how it affects people and what can be done.”
“We all make moral decisions every day,” Potterton notes. “Students observe situations, make judgements based on their values and act based on their capabilities and circumstances. But they need a way of thinking about issues that affect their lives and, preferably, one that encourages action.”
“A form of moral inquiry designed to do this was created by a Catholic priest, Joseph Cardijn (1882-1967), when he started a movement with working-class young people in 1919 that became known as the Young Christian Workers.”
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Mark Potterton, See, judge and act — how to help children to think critically and act morally when exposed to violence (Daily Maverick)
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