Adolescents in the 21st century: Back to dialogue from marked lives vs dreamed lives

Abstract

What makes the co-construction of a new alliance between school-adolescents-family-territory topical, necessary, vital, and imperative? The twenty-first century started with one of the most significant and profound educational emergencies of all times. The following elements characterize this crisis: The progressive loss of trust in the institutions and in the adult world. The disruption of communities and the solitude of families. The absence of new paradigms able to interpret and face changes under way, with the subsequent poor awareness of the impact on young generations and on the planet of the two revolutions under way: digital and biotechnological. The fourth revolution, as Floridi, L. (2018), The fourth revolution. How the infosphere strains transforming the world, Italian edition La quarta rivoluzione. Come l’infosfera stra trasformando il mondo, Milano, Raffello Corina Editore, which is transforming the world, does not find any critical space yet in educational curricula. A sort of “anthropological mutation” of digital adolescents is taking place which may appear as a surprise to the world of adults and in particular to all those who are in charge of education. A dialogue-based approach can represent an effective “counter-device” (Agamben, Che cos’è un dispositivo? i sassi nottetempo, Milano, 2006) capable of fighting dementia and digital solitude (Spitzer, M. (2012), Digital dementia. How to make us and our children crazy. Droemer Knaur, Munich 2012, Italian edition (2013) Demenza digitale, Milano, Il Corbaccio, Spitzer, M. Digital loneliness, (2016) Italian edition, Solitudine digitale, Milano, Il Corbaccio), and of contributing to co-construct a new educational alliance based on responsibility, commitment, and understanding. Dialogue is an inclusive practice where the entire educational community is involved, which is generously, carefully, and profoundly listening to adolescents. Dialogue, as a bridge with and between generations, develops higher awareness and critical skills with respect to the continuous and sudden changes under way and provides the ability to imagine the future. In this article, the possibility to co-construct a new educational alliance between school-students-families-territory is analyzed. School managers and teachers, “coach facilitators” of this process, are in charge of generating dialogue, facilitating it and keeping it open.