Childhood: times of mutability

Life cycle and society: forward and backward

Childhood and Society: by Erik Homburger Erikson is depicted as a landmark work on the social significance of childhood. (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award)
Identity and the Life Cycle goes deeply into the relationship of life history, relates to each other observations on groups studied on field researches and on children observed longitudinally and clinically, also beyond adolescence, into the critical stages of the whole life cycle, to join then The Problem of Ego Identity from biographical, clinical, and social points of view.
After beginning and wholeness, the conclusive denouement is also the subject of other books till the rounding off The Life Cycle Completed by Erik Homburger Erikson and his wife Joan Mowat Erikson (Paperback - June 1998) 

A meaningful quotation about childhood from a famous Romantic English poet, William Wordsworth: MY HEART LEAPS UP WHEN I BEHOLD           My heart leaps up when I behold               A rainbow in the sky:           So was it when my life began;           So is it now I am a man;           So be it when I shall grow old,               Or let me die!           The Child is father of the Man;               I could wish my days to be           Bound each to each by natural piety.                                                            Written at Town-end, Grasmere: 1802. ... to a child from whom this grown-up grew To Léon Werth, I ask the indulgence of the children who may read this book for dedicating it to a grown-up. I have a serious reason: he is the best friend I have in the world. I have another reason: this grown-up understands everything, even books about children. I have a third reason: he lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs cheering up. If all these reasons are not enough, I will dedicate the book to the child from whom this grown-up grew. All grown-ups were once children -- although few of them remember it. And so I correct my dedication:                            TO LEON WERTH                     WHEN HE WAS A LITTLE BOY A' Léon Werth Quand il était petit garçon Original dedication of the legendary book: Antoine de Saint Exupéry: Le petit prince

El sueño de la razon produce monstruos...

(Look at the embryogenesis' biological "organizers":
A Selective History of Induction II. Spemann's induction experiments
The Spemann-Mangold organizer In 1901, Curt Herbst wrote that he thought it possible "to establish the occurrence of formative stimuli which are exerted from one part of the embryo to another, and to demonstrate eventually the possibility of a complete resolution of the entire ontogenesis into a sequence of such inductions." This prediction of inductive cascades was a bold statement, given that no sequence of events had yet been observed (1, 2). But that was soon to change. That same year, HANS SPEMANN (3) published "one of the most significant and seminal papers in the history of embryology" (4), his experimental analysis of lens formation in the frog.... In 1924, while working on the relatively large eggs of amphibians he discovered, together with Hilde Mangold, the existence of an area in the embryo, the portions of which, upon transplantation into a different part of a second embryo, induced the secondary embryonic primordia. The name "organizer centre" or "organizer" was given to those parts by him. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1935  for this discovery of the organizer effect in embryonic development.

VOLUME 45, NUMBER 1, SPECIAL ISSUE  2001 THE SPEMANN MANGOLD ORGANIZER 75 Years on Edited by E.M. De Robertis and J. Aréchaga

Not only grounding on patients' care, not only advancing abstract theories: impossible is to equate those at least at any rate ill-timed descriptions or all-embracing abstractions with the compelling basics brought up by SIGMUND FREUD, who committed his discoveries putting forward a developmental pedestal as a solid foundation on which to establish every further research. No way to compare the unilaterality, and staticity of all other schools with the strong and wide load-bearing concrete, stimulant science brought forth by him: primarily on postulating the "complexes" as necessary, successive phases of human development.
The first use of the term complex in the psychological field came notwithstanding from Jung and his The Association Method for detecting unconscious problems when free words association stops or changes direction: unfortunately this - pejorative - meaning has been the most popularly used till now. Instead if precisely accepted this word can't be easily changed since Freud's complexes describe real "journeys", real precisely timed occurrences, not only bare explanatory concepts: "to develop" isn't only "to grow...", and then not only on a clinical test, not only as pejorative term, but such essential designation could have used this simple easy word - on its own ethimology: com-plexus - to better ground crucial studies on human nature. Freud proposed descriptions established on fixed deeds NOT only static pathological data, NOT only abstractions, NOT mere descriptive metaphor: as school subjects the existing natural "complexes" can be performed with care or negligence, could be well carried out or messed up at wrong or at least inappropriate times. Like subjects of study, they are real powerful items determining  growth of potentialities, or instead mortifying personal whole life by rejection: both cases also affecting groups they belong to. Any way - luckily as happens for school rejected classes - after all some willing "rebuffed" people can recover better if with a redeeming external aid.

IF YOU thought that breast milk must taste rather bland, think again. Human milk provides a veritable cornucopia of different flavour combinations that may prime a child to try new foods later on. ... "Human milk is clearly a substance which varies considerably in flavour over time and between different people," says Gary Beauchamp of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who has also studied how flavours pass into breast milk. The findings could have practical implications for mothers worried about why their infant is refusing to feed, says Gill Rapley, a UK nurse with more than 20 years' experience specialising in postnatal care. "Mothers often talk about whether something in their milk may have upset their baby, but within 8 hours most flavours will be gone." Preliminary results from Hausner also suggest that breastfed infants might be more receptive to new flavours than bottle-fed ones. "It's not like if the mother eats apple pie the baby thinks 'mmmm, apple pie', but it may make them more accepting of the flavour of other foods," she says. "Breastfeeding may prepare the infant for flavour changes and new experiences when they start to eat solid foods."

Linda Geddes

The oral complex hints to wholeness, till the risk of indistinctness ignoring parameters of space and moreover of TIME. But an oral complex well "upgraded" MUST BE the founding ground of a really  lived existence since a true physiology of the being in action cannot disregard the multiple texture of present correlations nor the various past modalities in which the essence of a real human being should have concretized itself. Emotions, relationships, feelings, affection and subjective experiences give consistency at every moment to actual reality of the whole body condition, but each of them cannot disavow their previous passages. The word "complex" indicates just something into which many various elements are harmonized together and so the anal complex with its embodied "making" and "separating" contains also "aggressiveness": different from the greedy non-destructive   "aggressive-oral" one. For Latin language, ad-gredi means to go "towards" and not only "against": instead the "anal" dynamism with its "denying" and "rejecting" hints not only towards how to MANAGE; already by itself it implies not only disconnection, but also destruction. This "to wipe out" conducts towards ends, towards emptiness, towards loss and solitude, with their correlated fear and dismay. (Look at Freud's book Beyond the pleasure principle the beginning of his theory of death instinct).
But all this doesn't be an only sad situation: this mainstay developmental step gradually opens to every consciousness, growing into a founding way to the myself feeling and consequently of a true awareness of other's reality and feelings, as well as ownership allows to agree to other ones' belongings, whilst it expands also towards the we, the "to be member" of a defined Society. No doubt how difficult its pathway could go on, but how worse if deprived of the energetic support of a well-lived warm oral complex. Such occurence freezes its activity, each element transforms either into inhibition or in contraposition: performing in always limited way, in most cases becomes merely contrary and opposed. Worst of all it tends to come back statically "aping" a parody of what should have performed before: it does not proceed since spreads a confuse atmosphere of a false, malignant, hidden and fake oral complex. Thus it replaces its generalized benevolence with strict borders between a pampered "we" and excluded "deceptive" others; it replaces the "oral" instinctive farsighted (as that of the alchemic, symbolic lynx in Goya's picture above) with exaggerated precautions; counterfeits the oral quiet "to hold" with a mean avarice... Substituting the unconfined, broad-minded oral complex invades pervasively the whole world, borrowing its con- terms it takes for only merely aggressive, if not merely destructive meanings - competition, contraposition.... By establishing itself as basic, in order to avoid Nature and/or "diffusion" it can  turn into mere confusion when it scorns or ignores the preceding phase's contributions: but flooding beyond any border it intervenes also OUTSIDE to stop each oral-complex aspect, despised as too imprecise. Instead of guiding the harmonizing of several analogous factors, it takes on a myopic and single-handed "reasonableness" as the only perspective on life. Deprived of real roots of orality, it turns into a poor, narrow and narrowing copy of the rich and vital oral complex: so it neglects to follow and drive on its profound, mighty potentialities; its "we together" then becomes eager to violate the other's well-being: acting as a persecutory to exclude every "other-nesss" or to include other people into strict cult-like worshipness.
The human anal complex can after all reach a state of very valuable powers, unfortunately regardless  if not well developed: using its powers whensoever deprived of real basics it performs limited ways, in most cases becoming merely a bunch of contraries and oppositions, of static, ill-timed ritualized orders, if not a needy striving for - abusive - dependency and/or abusive destructive overcoming. Then what to say on regard of a narrowed thinking which works in terms only of contradictions, only of very strict either/or else, of ill-disposed disregarding "aut-aut"? As for a main example rational/irrational where not only "rationality" does not be considered to come from Latin ratio - which is only the name of the measurement ruler - but used instead as a Jolly counterfeiting more appropriate terms disdaining times and circumstances - as a far-sighted "to provide" stiffed on a "to supply" from "superiors to "inferiors". But the situation worsen when its misled opposite - "irrational" - taints with its contempt the simple "not yet conscious" and moreover the bodily "emotional", showing the total unawareness of the vital, lively widespread emotional world, in sum up promoting an active oblivion of everyone INNER basic to be.

Only after well fulfilled previous complexes the innate, latent third one can unfold its real happening to ripen its possibilities and values. The Oedipus complex well lived and overcome gives a better, more open view of a personalized, free, promising start towards all knowledge and possibility, of true humanity and true love. At about the fourth year of life normal development can (or unfortunately only "could") reach an extraordinary experience: the child can know deep, tremendous feelings pertaining to the "adult world" and, if all is favorable, he/she can share these deep but also really CONSCIOUS feelings with his/her significant adults. But this intense "love-affair" isn't only a static selfish episode: at the same time the Oedipus-child can profoundly understand, by his/her intense involvement who people individually are, what their feelings are, and can have a deep, albeit brief, feeling for the highest sentiments and the sources of well-built creativity (not to be confused with a longing for fanciful caprices and/or unreal "goals" and/or "fictions")

As occurs not only in the main Chinese philosophy and religion, but also in human life everywhere, TWO CRUCIAL WAYS illustrate how every times and modes alternate together: one way, as Yin, quiet, broad, filling, resting... and one, as Yang, emptying, moving, tightening and coming out. The first can offer the chance to enjoy or at least to feel, the second the channel to master, to control, to change...: oral complex and the Oedipus' are of course aspects of Yin life, each followed by its symmetric Yang opposite. The value of a well performed anal complex could even improve the oral one, and correspondingly, in order to complete the "genital", gifted Oedipus' complex, comes forward what Freud summarized with a very skillful intuition as castration complex. Here it would take too long to explain all its capacities, functions and offers of possibility when it take place in the right manner and is based on sure roots. When unprepared, as also does the anal complex, it can proceed but too more often on the ruins and wreck of previous life, acting only as compensation, behaving in detrimental ways all the time beyond all ages, lasting unceasingly for one's whole life like a school subject never upgraded.

Sociological problem

a scandal book which forces life-enjoying Italy to mirror itself in the first anthropological inquiry on illiteracy. A scandal and a Cassandra book, Né leggere, né scrivere is a work that looks out into the future.  (from the blurb, Callari Galli Matilde, Harrison Gualtiero, Né leggere, né scrivere, Meltemi1997 ISBN 8886479263).

 

Hopes and reference

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But for us - concerned adults - and for those who are - one hopes "wise" - people: what to do? What to think?

By good luck, we must not forget the still existing possibilities, like the ones described by: Erik Erikson, Maria Montessori, Emmi Pikler and several others. For instance such possibilities are operative in great organizations such as Montessori group, and in localized, daring ones like the pre-school of Correggio - that we hope still present thanks to the great help given by North America Reggio Emilia Alliance and by Reggio Emilia Approach - or in the famous school of Summerhill - which has now fortunately reopened. Happily we can in fact even trust in some other well proposing Authors and Organizations - as explained in all the pages of this site - look at the Authors there quoted: Erik Erikson, Maria Montessori, Emmi Pikler..., Loris Malaguzzi and his pre-school of Correggio, Summerhill (go also to plug-in) and Etre et avoir (see the pictures and the text below) and many others, among which must be noted a no more active Italian Web site b> Le esperienze [the experiences] with a lot of good links and data endorsed within.

The Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting (CEEP) is part of the the Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. CEEP provides publications and information to the worldwide early childhood and parenting communities.

The child has a hundred languages
                 (and a hundred, hundred, hundred  more)
                                 but we steal ninety nine

                            that work and play
                                reality and fantasy
                               science and imagination
                                  sky and earth
                              reason and dream
                               are things

                                                                                               that do not belong together

                                 Loris Malaguzzi

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a town that credits children with potentialities and creativity, recognizing them as legal subjects, endowed of their own culture and autonomy, establishes the founding premises for a higher condition of citizenship in the individual

Loris Malaguzzi,

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But yet to enter
 imperfectly known times of mutability
         is not so difficult. 
                        It is sufficient to be sympathetic, 
                           to cooperate with respect, 
                    to participate with curiosity and pleasure. 
            In short it is sufficient to take
 children's evolution in earnest 
              and at the same time
           reawaken one's own evolution. 

You can buy SIENTJE here:
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St.Josephstraat 135 - 5017 GG Tilburg - Netherlands
Tel.: +31-13-5324070
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4 Minuten Animationsfilm Niederlande 1997 Regie Christa Moesker - Produktion Niederlandisches Institute für Animationfilm, Tilburg)

Rhinos and motherhood

What was that? the calf is born. it's a girl. it changed as i sent the message. i don't know what happened to the announcement. i hope you enjoy "my" Emi and daughter. it's about 8 more hours until they will let them be on camera. if so, i think the little one was howling for breakfast. she got her wish. her mom got right up from her sleep. Today that the mother rhinoceros was... either sick or dead, and I was concerned as well. our baby and mother were sleeping but baby got suddenly to her feet and began to howl. mother Emi slept on and on... baby nudged and howled and sought everywhere for a place to nurse, but her mother was completely unresponsive. baby started to pull on Emi's ear and even that did not rouse the sleeping mountain of a mother... I wish you could have seen the face of the baby. I could swear that i saw registered there, a look of total dismay...fear, hopelessness, perplexity. Just walking and sitting and exhibiting apparent emotion. In another two or three minutes Emi got to her feet and allowed her little one to nurse. yet another 3 or 4 minutes, and the baby fell asleep on the floor. Next time we looked they were sleeping in their new position... side by side... head to head looking quite alike.
Projections? I was becoming frightened. Mom was but then rationalized that Emi knew that the baby had just been fed and was only seeking companionship.

A poem: the Rhino and Kathje

nobody hears me.
oh, no! i'll die unless
she awakens and turns
and feeds me oh my!

mountain mama.
great great mountain
falling springs fountains
please wake up.
i am here. it hurts.
my face rumples
and ugliness comes down
from the dry dry mountain
and stains my face.

no sleep. hurts!
no food for me
i am invisible. she has
forgotten me.
lost. i am lost.
lay down
give up
stand up and howl.
i howl. no voice.