English
page
A
selection of the messages on this website is published here in English.
Please
take a look at my publications in (mostly) English by clicking here. Let me know if you are
interested in any of these publications through jwa.berding@ziggo.nl.
News
* From
April 28 to May 1 2012 I participated in a study trip to Warsaw Poland, in commemoration of Janusz Korczak, who
on August 5/6 1942 was transported
to the extermination camp Treblinka with his co-workers
and 200 orphanages. The group
consisted of members of the
Board of the Dutch Korczak Association, sponsors and leaders from our Nash Dom camps. Also five
students from Flanders (Belgium) and a colleague participated. We visited Dom Sierot, the orphanage
in the Jewish quarter of Warsaw of which Korczak became director in 1912. It was impressive to enter and sit in
the Great hall where in the
20s and 30s more than 100 – 150 children
ate their daily bread. It
is almost unbelievable that this building was rescued. We also visited the monument in the center of the city and the one in the Jewish cemetry. You can
look at some pictures on Picasa.
* It is becoming a tradition: for the third time now members of the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child and members from multiple Korczak Associations across Europe gathered together on a Saturday in June to share their views on the rights of the Child. This time article 12 of the Convention was the central topic. This article states that the child has the right to express his or her own views freely, and has the right to be heard. For the experts this article is the core of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.
Members of the Committee presented their views on this article and its implementation in their own countries: Tunisia, Uganda, Hungary and so on. After these presentations there was a performance of the play ‘The 10 matchboxes’ by Israeli actor Amichai Pardo. He transformed into the figure of Janusz Korczak and in a dialogical way with the public told the story of the 10 matchboxes: one is lost and found, another turns into a 'ship', children quarrel about it and so on. A very moving experience. After the performance Amichai told us that he performed this play over a 1000 times, in many countries and that is was always different.
The program of the afternoon consisted of talks by Korczakians on the topic. Jonathan Levy talked about global citizenship and a new initiative to develop a program on children as teachers on children's rights. Anna Bystrzycka told a moving story about Korczak's life in the orphanage. And Kelvin Ravenscroft from the UK philosophized in a very spiritual, yet also practical manner about the social construction of meaning. As chair of this panel I concluded that the concept of space, both in a physical and in psychological sense is prime when we want to uphold article 12 and have the child be able to express himself or herself and be heard.
The last panel was also about
practice. Nelianne de Boo, head of primary school
Matthijsje in the Netherlands, told us how she tries to form a community with
parents and children. She showed that bringing Korczak into practice that does
not mean that you can't work towards good results; even better, because of the
positive and co-operative spirit. Sven Hartman from Sweden told us about a new
project with Roma children. His approach signifies the humane
spirit which was so characteristic for Korczak's
approach. The UN committee member from Uganda, Awich Pollar, told us about the tension between children 's
rights and culture, as can be seen in the case of genital mutilation. On the
other hand, also in African countries, the new social media give more and more
opportunities for young people to express themselves.
This seminar was once again hosted by the Polish mission to the UN.
* On January 18, 2011 a new book, in Dutch, on the subject of children’s play was presented (D. van der Aalsvoort, Ed.). I wrote a chapter in this book about John Dewey’s educational views on play. Since there was a guest professor from the USA, Roberta M. Golinkoff who attended this event, my Power-Point-presentation was in English and you can have a look at it here.
* On the social network site
Linkedin.com I have instituted a group called ‘Janusz Korczak’. You can join
this group by clicking on http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1858263&trk=anet_ug_hm.
(Linkedin.com requires you join up first.)
* In the first week of August
2010 an international conference took place in Tokyo, Japan. The subject
was Janusz Korczak and children’s rights in the 21st century. It was organized
by the Japan Korczak Association (JKA) and the International Korczak
Association (IKA) and was hosted by the Meiji University. There were
participants from Israel, Russia, Germany, Switzerland and …. I had the honor to represent The Netherlands there, and took part
with a lecture on the practical application of Korczak’s
ideas in the field of early childhood education. I presented a project I
conducted in my country which aimed at uplifting the pedagogical quality of the
work in daycare and after-school care. As already
discussed below, this led to the production of a successful brochure, the
English version of which was now also presented to a Japanese audience.
-You can download my power-point presentation, Key concepts of Janusz Korczak’s inspirational view and their application in
practice, here.
-A more extensive report and photos will appear in this section of my website
and also in the section ‘International’ of www.korczak.nl.
-If you are interested in the English brochure on childcare, please read this form, and mail the
number of copies you want to: info@korczak.nl
If you want to see some pictures from the conference: follow this link.
You can see the presentation of the delegates from the different Korczak
Associations in the main hall of Meiji University (myself 6th from
the right). There is the official conference sign in the university’s building.
Another one shows the group of ‘foreigners’ (and one of our student-guides),
myself 2nd from the right, taken near the famous Asakusa
Temple in Tokyo, in front of the statue of Uryu Iwako, who performed many social activities in the 2nd
half of the 19th century, and who was so beloved that she was called
‘Iwako the Buddha’. Also there are pictures from
Hiroshima and the children’s monument there.
* On June 5, 2010, the
conference on childrens’ rights and the education of
Janusz Korczak enjoyed a second edition! Again, in Geneva, Switzerland,
a theme of mutual interest to Korczak-ians and
members of the Council of Europe/UN Committee was discussed in a one-day
symposium: the education and training of professionals who work with children
and young people. I was honoured to be invited again as one of the lecturers.
In time, I will publish my presentation on this website.
The evening before the conference many Korczak-ians
gathered for an informal meeting in the children’s centre Le Cerf-Volant, a
centre inspired by the educational views of Françoise Dolto,
and supported by the ‘Amis of Dr. J. Korczak en Suisse’. Follow this
link for an impression of our gathering, and of the conference.
In
Geneva I also presented a new publication in English: the 8-page full-colour
brochure Janusz Korczak for workers in childcare and after-school care
(Joop Berding, Inge Smit and Inge van Rijn, authors). This brochure was
originally written in Dutch and published in the Netherlands in March 2010. The
first edition, 750 copies, was sold out in 1,5 month! You can have a look at
the brochure by clicking http://en.calameo.com/read/000261669230836b273c6
The English edition can be ordered from the Dutch Janusz Korczak Stichting, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Please read this form, and mail the number
of copies you want to: info@korczak.nl
* On June 6, 2009 I participated in a conference in Geneva, Switzerland,
hosted by the Polish Mission, where people from different Korczak Associations
met with representatives of the Council of Europe, and of the UN Committee on
the Rights of the Child. Among the invited addresses was that of Mr Thomas Hammarberg, High Commissioner for Human Rights of the CoE. I myself took part in one of the panels, i.e. on
children’s participation from Korczak’s perspective.
I reworked my statement and you can read the full text here.
It will also be published in the Proceedings.
(Part of) the conference group in Geneva
* In September 2008 my text on Korczak – An Introduction was republished in the Report on the Dutch Youth Conference that was held in September 2007 in Bergen aan Zee, Netherlands. Please check the Dutch Korczak website: www.korczak.nl.
* On November 27, 2005 a new
article on Janusz Korczak was published on the website of libertarian
education: Janusz Korczak - An Introduction
* The section Internationaal / News of
the website of the Janusz Korczak Stichting devotes a
discussion to the topic of the future of the international Korczak-'movement'.
It was started by the Swiss pedagogue Gérard Kahn
with his essay Does Korczak have a future? I responded to that under the
title Korczak has a past, a present ànd a future.
A new book on Janusz Korczak
February
11, 2005 saw the publication of my new book on Janusz Korczak:
Obsessed by the child. Educational action in day care centers
I
wrote a book in Dutch about Korczak's educational
ideas, applied to day care and after school groups. It's about educational
quality, and pedagogical practices inspired by Janusz Korczak. It tells how
workers in day care centers and after school groups
experiment with Korczak's ideas about justice,
respect, participation and self-reflection. These stories are illustrated by
some thirty photographs of children and workers in action. The book is
especially written for students and professionals, and also interesting for
educational councilors and the more general audience
interested in democratic education. The book is published by publishing-house
Van Gorcum, Assen, The Netherlands. ISBN 9023241118.
Price: Euro 18.50. Those who do not master the Dutch language can contact me
for further information through e-mail.
*****
Recent publications in English (a choice)
Berding, J., I. Smit and I. van Rijn en (2010). Janusz Korczak for workers in childcare and after-school care. Amsterdam: Janusz Korczak Stichting. (booklet, 8 pp.)
Berding, J.W.A. (2010). Teaching Korczak. Lecture at the 2nd conference on the Rights of the Child and Korczak’s Pedagogy. Geneva. June 5. (powerpoint, hand-out, brochure)
Berding, J.W.A. (2009). Participation, citizenship, and community. Janusz Korczak’s Radical View. In O. Biernacka (Ed.). The Polish Jewish Pioneer on Children’s Rights Janusz Korczak (1978-1942) and the Today’s Convention of the Rights of the Child as International Law. International Seminar (pp. 35-39). Geneva.
Berding, J.W.A. (2008). Janusz Korczak - An Introduction. In Th. Cappon
& J. Tchikhatcheva (Ed.). Dutch International
Janusz Korczak Youth Conference. Report (pp. 80-88). Amsterdam: Janusz
Korczak Association in the Netherlands.
Berding, J. (2005). A man for our times. In Young Minds Magazine. An article on
Janusz Korczak and pupil participation. You can read the article by clicking A man for our times. (pdf file)
Berding, J.W.A. (2004). Janusz Korczak: What it Means to be an Educator. Encounter.
Education for Meaning and Social Justice, 17, 4, pp. 11-16.
Berding,
J.W.A. (2004). Becoming a Citizen. The Inspiration of Janusz Korczak.
Paper presented to the Regional Conference 'Exploring Citizenship Through
Religious Studies'. Bradford Grammar School. Bradford, UK. November 14.
Berding, J.W.A. (1999). De participatiepedagogiek van John Dewey. Opvoeding,
ervaring en curriculum. Ph.D. thesis Free University Amsterdam. Click here for a Summary
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