Social education and development of family potential

Social education and the development of family potential

Motto: Believable marriage and cohabitation and a loving family atmosphere changes the hearts of family members and turns them away from evil.

What is a family?

A family can be understood as a collective being that differs from other families:

• unrepeatable and unique organism, i.e. family constellations, relationships and communication in the family;
• his unique talent for family life, that is, the common sense of the family and the typical way of living in a specific family, which is a visible manifestation of the transfer of experiences, habits and customs, especially from parents to children in a given family;
• the level of maturity achieved in the intellectual and emotional knowledge and experience of the family as a group and the cultivation or neglect of the collective mental and spiritual potential of the family as a whole and individual family members separately;
• will based on the needs, interests and value orientations of the family and individual family members, while motivation determines the dynamics and goals of family life;
• the conscience of the family and individual family members, i.e. the internalized principles of moral and prosocial perception, feelings, evaluation and actions of the family and individual family members - which is reflected both in the actions of the family within its own circle and in the actions directed outside the family;

The family is a complete social, psychological and spiritual "organism," which is characterized by its temperament, unique nature, wisdom, courage, and its own conscience and independent action. Or it can be the other way around, she is not very temperamental, does not have her own character and lives according to the presumptuous natures of others, is unwise, timid, does not have her own conscience, does not act independently.

In our current post-modern era, the family found itself in chaos. Relatively often, families are incomplete, dysfunctional, unable to create a socially, psychologically and spiritually positive network of communication and relationships. And so the family is not a sufficiently supportive environment for the physical, psychological and social life of its members. Family is not always a supportive environment. On the contrary, many times it is an environment that threatens family members. The family environment is marked by disturbed family relationships, disturbed interpersonal communication, psychological manipulation and social pathology. Such families are distinguished from optimally functioning families by their serious family social problems.

Dysfunctional families are socially and psychologically different in a negative sense, and members of such families (husband, wife, parent, child) are marked by this fact. Otherness causes a person's psychological and social disadvantage, which creates other problems for the dysfunctional family as a whole and individual family members separately. As a rule, one of the family members develops a psychological problem, the inability to handle the social burden, the problem of adapting to living conditions, a failure in communication with the environment, the inability to apply oneself in life or organize life's affairs. At the same time, it is true that "the family is the most important link in the natural system of human relationships. Family relationships condition other layers of social relationships to a certain extent." (J. Máchová, 1970, p. 15.)

We understand it in the way that everything good and bad that happens in society is mirrored to a certain extent in the good or bad that happens in the life of the family. J. Máchová (1970, p.16) differentiated the conceptual meanings of family as follows: Nuclear family, i.e. immediate group , which consists of father, mother and children (who all live together). Extended (extended) family, which also includes other relatives: grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins, etc. Collectively, this group is identical to the term kinship (it is a more modern name for the older term genus). Orientation family - this is the family in which a certain individual is born. Proliferating family - this means a new family that a couple establishes through marriage.

J. Máchová claims, and we agree with her, that the complexity of the entire societal structure, societal communication and societal conflicts are reflected in the family. She arrived at important statements that are fully valid even today, so for the sake of accuracy we quote them verbatim (J. Máchová, 1970, p. 18):

1. "The greater the movement of family members (geographical, due to the nature of the job, change of job, socio-economic, educational, religious), the weaker are the family bonds and the less the family contributes to maintaining its social position.
2. The weaker the integration of the family, the more likely it is that its members join general political or social movements of a deviant nature. This also applies to juvenile delinquency.
3. Mental disturbance in one member of the nuclear family has a disturbing effect on the whole family (especially when it comes to psychiatric cases - mental illnesses, personality disorders, addictions).
4. In every type of society, care for children and elderly relatives is recorded as part of family relations (even in the poorest societies).
5. In all advanced societies, there is also a ban on incest (sexual intercourse between members of the nuclear family and between some members of the extended family)."

The family's gift for good and evil?

We ask why, despite the relatively equal conditions of material security and opportunities to live a dignified life, some nuclear, or in other words, primary families fail in their social, psychological and spiritual role, thanks to a serious error in the fulfillment of family responsibilities by the mother, father, or children?

Like the heart of an individual, is the heart of a family gifted for good and evil? Let's help ourselves with a thought construct: in the case when the state as a social unit and families as a smaller social unit within the state do not respect the higher meaning of their lives, then the state and families fall apart, there is a disruption of the social, psychological and spiritual community of the state and the family. There is no motivation and enthusiasm of people in the state or in the family, and there is also a lack of energy needed to realize people's personal and family potential.

Apparently, this is also due to the fact (J. Šafin, 2014) that people are not in a condition to know and distinguish the reality they live in from an illusion. The contemporary person of the 21st century is supported in illusions and recognizes what is not in reality and, on the contrary, does not recognize what is real and true in his life. We will only add that if people do not have knowledge of reality, then they cannot act according to the reality they live or according to what is true in their life.

People need to be guided and led to knowledge that leads to truth and not to illusions, even in family life, and the words of psychoanalyst E. Fromm (1969.p. 123) apply to them, that "a person has a tendency to go back and go forward: it is only another way of saying that he has a tendency to good and evil. ...He has the freedom to choose between alternatives, which are themselves determined by the overall situation in which a person finds himself However, if his heart has hardened to the point that there is no longer a balance between his inclinations, he no longer has the possibility of free choice... Precisely because evil is human, because it is the potential for regression and loss of our humanity, it is inside each of us."

E. Fromm notes that "we must not rely on someone to save us, but we must be aware of the fact that wrong choices make us unable to save ourselves"... In the event that "we have lost the ability to be moved by the suffering of another human being, by the friendly gaze of another person, ..... if a person becomes indifferent to life, then there is no hope that he can choose the good. his heart has really hardened so much that his "life" is at an end.' (E. Fromm, 1969, p. 123.)

The way to get rid of evil in oneself and thus also in the family is built through awareness of the value and uniqueness of one's person and thus self-respect and awareness of the uniqueness and value of one's close people in the family and thus also respect for other people. Self-respect and respect for others are, in our opinion, the key facts of getting rid of evil in people's lives.

Questions about the basic purpose of human life and the family

According to the philosopher J. Patočka, the human questions regarding the true being of a person are the following: "Why is it worth living? Do I have something to live for? What is a person in the world for? When and how is it really worth living? When is a person good? When can one say that one's life is truly good? When can one say that one's life has succeeded - that it has been a successful life?" (J. Patočka, 1996, p. 143 – In: J. Křivohlavý, 2009, p. 120.)

In Socrates' humanism, "man is originally an unfinished, incomplete being by nature. Life itself is only an apparently full life. However, it is possible to awaken a person to true, real being. The natural man neglects this possibility - "he does not know himself." Behind the apparent being is the real, behind the aimless life is the life that has a goal - the life under its unity." For Socrates, the soul is the only thing that matters in life: the soul can gain an understanding of the Good and thereby pass from an internal impotence to a solid form (J. Patočka, 1996, p. 142-146). Meanwhile, in antiquity, the heart and not the brain was considered the center of wisdom, and the essence of wisdom was caring for "the mind that is attached to the heart." (M. Mráz, 2006.)

Good life, right to human dignity in society and family

The idea of a "good life," of the quality of life from a subjective point of view, "includes psychological, ethical, and aesthetic priorities arising from the idea of the world and of man. Its understanding is based on the understanding of the meaning of life, which represents the focal point of self-understanding." (B. Šulavíková, 2006, p.113.) A certain philosophy of life, spiritual values, which condition the thinking, feelings, behavior and actions of the family and its members, are necessary for the development of a person, and therefore also for the family and its members.

Is the right to human dignity only a declaration or is it really the lived reality of people? Do people exercise their right to human dignity, i.e. to respect themselves as unique bearers of human values? And at the same time, while demanding their own human dignity, are people ready to take responsibility for how they live? Right and responsibility are two sides of the coin, they are related to social discipline as well as personal discipline. The right to human dignity is associated with considerable human responsibilities - to work on one's spiritual, psychological and social development within the limits of one's own individual potential and at the same time within the limits and conditions of the reality of one's life. Living conditions ultimately depend on the psychological and social maturity or immaturity of individuals and people in the family and in other groups of different life purpose and social hierarchy.

We illustrate this statement with an excerpt: "It is said that Socrates asked people in the Athenian market place why they live the way they do, and thus found out their philosophy of life and whether their way of life is the result of a conscious choice or just a random coincidence. In the debate, he showed them that they actually do not know why they live." (In: B. Šulavíková, 2006, p. 114.)

Theoretically, it can be assumed that the declared rules and the real life of people today, even in the family environment, are confusing for many. It also refers to the phenomenon of declared human dignity, on the one hand, and the living violation of human dignity through undignified ways of manipulating people's consciousness, on the other. The spiritual and mental values ​​of people's being, i.e. authentic experience, are declared using E. Fromm's expression - Being: the spiritual and psychological aspect of life is declared. Except nowadays, in their daily lives, people are encouraged to value material security, property. According to E. Fromm's expression, having is practiced in life: to possess, to summarize, to consume. (E. Fromm, 1969.)

Education of people as a preventive measure and the family

Our idea of family and family education, which primarily concerns the self-education of adults and the education of children, is based on the fact that family members learn from each other and each one on his own. The family learns to live together and individual family members learn to live as unique individuals. This happens every day, because the family gets into many situations in life when it is forced to solve material, psychological and spiritual problems. Family members often do not manage interpersonal relationships and communication within the family circle. By imitating and identifying (identification), the family becomes an irreplaceable environment in which parents and children socialize with each other. The family learns how to live together. And at the same time, each member of the family learns to be an independent personality, that is, personalizes. In addition, family members acquire certain "instructions" for life in a social environment outside the family, that is, they become enculturalized.

By supporting the lifelong learning of the family and in the family, there is a chance and a significant way to: Protection, development and cultivation of the family and personal potential of the family, as a whole and individual family members separately - this means a way of improving the narrower internal environment of the family, i.e. the spiritual, psychological and microsocial environment of one's own family. And also improving the wider external environment of the family, i.e. the natural, macro-social and cultural environment in which the family lives.

Emphasizing the need for the whole family to learn as a preventive measure is related to the fact that the family as well as its individual members should learn how to live and act. She should be visibly supported in her efforts to reach her maturity as a whole and family members in particular. The family, as a collective being, should have the chance to work on its own spiritual, psychological and social maturity, which can ultimately be known. And this mainly according to the behavior and actions of the family when it gets into social stressful situations and is faced with serious life problems.

The generally accepted opinion of thinkers, philosophers and humanistic psychologists is that the highest goal of knowledge for an individual person is self-knowledge. We know that through self-reflection, a person in the family creates his personal, social and cultural identity throughout his life. The mental image of one's person significantly conditions the way and the level of life realization of a particular person. In the words of Ján Amos Comenius: Wisdom serves a person usefully by understanding his path and everything he does - it follows that the study of wisdom should prepare the human mind for everything that we have to experience in the course of this life in activity or suffering. Family Potential

The secret of the family's potential, i.e. the psyche of the family, penetrates into the world through concrete expressions and actions of family members. Implicit in the potential of the family is a psychological potential that affects the nature of the family and its members.

Psychic potential consists of a set of dispositions of the family, which in the course of the family's life is transformed into a psychological quality, called:

1. Worldview, value orientation of the family (which are the transformed dispositions of family members for evaluation) - this is a way of understanding life by family members and the family as a whole.
2. Psychological characteristics of the family (which are the transformed dispositions of the family members) – this is the manifestation of the life of the family members in the following forms:

• In the form of abilities (which are the transformed dispositions of family members to act), it is about individual mental and sensory-motor activities of family members.
• In the form of temperament and emotions (which are the transformed dispositions of family members to excitement), it is a unique individual way of feeling and expressing each family member.
• In the form of drives/motivation (which are the transformed dispositions of family members to act) it is the psychological energy, psychological focus and psychological dynamics of each family member. (M. Machalová, 2013, p.64; 2014.)

However, the power of the family's potential without psychological and spiritual self-regulation of the family as a whole and its individual members can threaten other families, other people, society, nature, planet Earth and the universe. The absence of a spiritual dimension in the life of the family and its individual members results in the fact that family members and the family as a whole are not integrated into the arrangement and order (discipline) of Life. The potential of the family can thus harm the family itself. It is summed up in the words of A. Einstein, that the fate of mankind from now on depends more on its moral principles than on the level of technology. (M. Machalová, 2013, p. 64; 2014.)

Social education1 and family

In appropriate conditions, a person has the ability to improve himself psychologically and change his behavior throughout his life. Psychologically, it is a natural process of achieving the integrity of a person. The individual has a tendency towards self-management and self-awareness. It is a question of how to meaningfully justify to people why it is necessary for them to learn to learn, and not get used to learning and lead them to understand that the only thing they can use in a social threat and that without any limitation are their own abilities.

The importance of the learning of the family as a whole and its individual members results from the need to develop people's ability to live, which we called "viability" as a systemic overarching ability. (M. Machalová, 2013, p.72-73; 2014.)

The meaning of the social education of the family consists in forming the mental, emotional, motivational, value and social readiness of the parents to evaluate the reality of life and to make optimal decisions and actions in connection with the family.

The purpose of social education is to support the family and its members to adequately assess the family's social situation and the problem and to act constructively, with the intention of coping with a stressful life situation while, as far as possible, maintaining mental and physical health. (M. Machalová, 2013, 2014.)

The general goal of family social education is: Social adaptation and integration of the personality of family members - i.e. social survival and continuity of development and personality development of family members within interpersonal relationships and social communication in the family.

The psychological goal of family social education is: Integration of the personality of individual family members and the formation of their identity - that is. psychological integrity, self-image, worldview, lifestyle. (M. Machalová, 2013, 2014).

Conclusion

Through the contents of social education, there is a chance to shape the preparedness of the family for everyday common and challenging situations, which means developing the following abilities of family members: to be a perceptive person – to think and understand what is happening in the family – to distinguish between what is harmful to family life and what is beneficial to family life – to be able to apply knowledge in the tasks of life in and outside the family – to act consciously and responsibly – to be disciplined in family life – to reshape and create family life – to have a conscience and respect the higher principles of family life, i.e. life values ​​and faith.

The message of the venerable Siluan Atosky: Lord, thank you for putting the Holy Spirit on earth and for teaching our soul to know what it would never have expected to know. (In: Archimandrita Sofronij (Sacharov), 2005, p.137.)

Author: Prof. doc. PhDr. Mária Machalová, CSc. Institute of Education and Sports – IVŠ, Prešov/Bratislava Literature

ARCHIMANDRITE SOPHRONIUS (SAKHAROV). 2005. Venerable Siluan Atoský. Translation: ŠAKOVÁ, Elena. Prešov: Missionary community of the holy great martyr Juraj Víťaz. 281 p. ISBN 80-969360-5-0. FROMM, Erich. 1969. The human heart – its capacity for good and evil. Prague: Mladá fronta. 136 p. CRAWHEADED, Jaro. 2009. Psychology of wisdom and the good life. Prague: GRADA.144 p. ISBN 978-80-247-2362-4. MACHALOVA, Mária. 2013. Preventive social work - Educational paradigm in social work. Prešov: University of Prešov. 272 ​​p. ISBN 978-80-555-0932-7. MACHALOVA, Mária. 2014. Educational social work. Prešov: University of Prešov. 327 p. ISBN 978-80-555-1118-4. MÁCHOVÁ, Jiřina. 1970. Dispute about the family. Prague: Mladá fronta. 133 p. MRÁZ, M. 2006. Psyche – concept, symbol, inspiration and source of wisdom. In: RUISEL, I. (Ed.): Wisdom – intelligence – personality. Bratislava: Institute of Experimental Psychology SAS, p. 10-16. PATOČKA, Ján. 1996. Caring for the soul. Prague: Oikoyhmenh. ŠAFIN, Ján. 2014. Speech at the opening of the conference. New social education of man III. Therapies in the helping professions. Orthodox Theological Faculty of Prešov University, Prešov, 3 November 2014. ŠULAVÍKOVÁ, Blanka. 2006. Authenticity and the good life. Bratislava: Album. 198 p.

1We understand education as a broader term that subsumes (includes) education and training. We use education as a system term and at the same time an internationally used term.