Reflections on upbringing in the post-pandemic era – around the book "Powerless education. On the education of the fragile, Krzysztof Maliszewski, Katowice 2021, wyd. University of Silesia, ss. 206

Abstract

"Powerless education. On the education of the fragile" is an extremely original collection of the author's thoughts on the dilemmas experienced by everyone who deals with education today. The book is divided into seven interrelated essays, accompanied by a bibliography, an index of names and a summary. The essence and at the same time the consequence of the adopted logic of considerations is the anthropological reconstruction of relational space not only in upbringing, but in general in interpersonal interactions – it describes the experience of contact with the unknown, disagreement, searching first for ways of escape, and then taming what is first, unknown, or known and neglected, but repressed or negated.The author juxtaposes two models of education, the so-called weak and strong education, pointing to their social and philosophical entanglements and familiarizing readers with their possible consequences, both developmental and social. The book does not lack literary, philosophical and religious references. In addition to reflections based on the foundations of pedagogical thinking (Folkierska), completely new threads appear (Biesta, Sławek). It is important that these narratives, lines of thought complement each other, intersect, and none of the author's associations appears accidentally or is placed in a vacuum. The book seems to be an illustration of the methods of narrative insight into experience – Maliszewski writes very suggestively, convincingly describing what he probably experienced himself, opening the space of phenomenological discourse to which he invites readers.