F.I.S.M. Modena - Federazione Italiana Scuole Materne

Care and Autonomy

Care and autonomy are two foundational concepts of education 06, the basis for all educational experiences. Indeed, the word "care" does not simply mean attention and concern for something or someone, but rather an ontological attitude that allows educators to offer children experiences that nourish their minds so that their potential can fully flourish. Thus, care becomes the essence of education: from this perspective, educational professionals create contexts, plan activities, and organize intentionally pedagogical times and spaces so that, as Giovanni Maria Bertin says, everyone can realize themselves by realizing others. In this self-realization, then, autonomy comes into play: achievements that children make day after day, not only in everyday activities, such as learning to tie their shoelaces, but also in the construction of their own thought processes, which must be divergent and creative.