What Child Is This?

In the following extract taken from the document The Religious Dimension in
a
Catholic School (Congregation for Catholic Education, 1988, paras. 22-23)
children
have been constructed in a particular way. Read the two paragraphs closely
through Rinaldis lens and response to each of the following questions
according to
how the child is constructed in these paragraphs.
22 Catholic schools are spread throughout the world and enrol literally
millions of
students. These students are children of their own race, nationality,
traditions, and
family. They are also the children of our age. Each student has a distinct
origin and
is a unique individual. A Catholic school is not simply a place where lessons
are
taught; it is a centre that has an operative educational philosophy, attentive
to the
needs of today's youth and illumined by the Gospel message. A thorough and
exact
knowledge of the real situation will suggest the best educational methods.
23 We must be ready to repeat the basic essentials over and over again, so
long as
the need is present. We need to integrate what has already been learned,
and
respond to the questions which come from the restless and critical minds of
the
young. We need to break through the wall of indifference, and at the same
time be
ready to help those who are doing well to discover a "better way", offering
them a
knowledge that also embraces Christian wisdom. The specific methods and
the
steps used to accomplish the educational philosophy of the school will,
therefore,
be conditioned and guided by an intimate knowledge of each student's
unique
situation.
1. Who is the child?

2. What is childhood?

3. Does childhood simply exist, or do we create it?

4. Does each society create its image of childhood and of its child?

5. How does a child learn?