It also reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend of mine, also a teacher. He said that sometimes you think / realise / believe that there is nothing you can do about this fractured morality, that you can try to teach, but end up walking into a wall every time again. You can wonder how much influence you have as a teacher onto children that come from social environments that are deprived of security, love and money. How can you teach them to think differently when you can't show them how what you say is better behaviour, will keep them alive?
It strikes me that the brothers Dardenne more than once show us children that have to grow up too quickly. They play grown-ups, but play with the real thing, like children that are playing war with real guns. They don't know the risks. And you are right Kohlberg is important here, because he shows us that children only see the immediate consequences from their behaviour and not the bigger picture. You could say Bruno became a better person, morally speaking, by the end of the film. Unfortunately we don't know if he stays that way and why. Maybe he only gave in to peer pressure?
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branchandroot
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Date: 2005-11-11 05:16 pm (UTC)It strikes me that the brothers Dardenne more than once show us children that have to grow up too quickly. They play grown-ups, but play with the real thing, like children that are playing war with real guns. They don't know the risks. And you are right Kohlberg is important here, because he shows us that children only see the immediate consequences from their behaviour and not the bigger picture. You could say Bruno became a better person, morally speaking, by the end of the film. Unfortunately we don't know if he stays that way and why. Maybe he only gave in to peer pressure?