Gerdien Bertram-Troost: "The main message is that a revolution in education is needed. That revolution is needed to move beyond social engineering. In a low-trust society like ours, there is a strong emphasis on control and supervision. This has repercussions on educational politics and policy. I have shown that this has put serious pressure on humanization in education. Becoming human is about how children and young people appear in the world as human beings and how they want to relate to that world. This requires space and trust. And that is precisely what is often lacking now.
That is why, with a view to creating more space for humanization, I argue for renewed attention to the philosophical dimension of education. This dimension helps us to reflect on how we want to look at students and teachers. And it makes us aware of the fact that life cannot be manufactured. The philosophical traditions can provide counter stories that offer a different perspective on being human and living together.
To this day, freedom of education is badly needed to sound a counter-narrative to neoliberalism and the dominant market. These are increasingly holding education in their grip and putting pressure on the space for humanization."
The chair is called 'Education in a philosophical and pedagogical perspective'. Gerdien explains what this chair entails: ''Because of the social engineering, control and performance culture that prevails in our education, the philosophical and pedagogical perspective is under pressure. Many teachers and students suffer from this. There is little space and trust and there are concerns about mental well-being. Many teachers do not feel seen and recognized in their own professionalism. This hinders them in their work, which in turn affects the students. Therefore, it is very important to restore more pedagogical space and trust in education.
Watch the oration back or read the entire text: Humanization in a low-trust society | Verus
Also Ad Valvas wrote about the day of the oration (only in Dutch)