Source: Bigstock

What kind of person are they looking for?

You will have a proven track record of delivering excellent people centred services, highly effective communication skills and leadership skills. Above all, you will have the energy, drive and passion for this critical role within [the school] setting.

I could not help but notice that immediately next to this advertisement was the newspaper’s disclaimer to advertisers:

Although every advertisement is carefully checked, occasionally mistakes do occur.

What is social pedagogy? Clearly it must be something distinct from asocial pedagogy, unsocial pedagogy, and, a fortiori, antisocial pedagogy. Our age being what it is, one suspects that it is what used to be called propaganda, or even agitprop. I looked it up on the fount of all knowledge:

Social pedagogy describes a holistic and relationship-centred way of working in care and educational settings with people across the lifecourse. In many countries across Europe (and increasingly beyond), it has a long-standing tradition as a field of practice and academic discipline concerned with addressing social inequality and facilitating social change by nurturing learning, well-being and connection both at an individual and community level.

What person but a monster could possibly be against the practice of a holistic nurturing of relationship-centred well-being across the lifecourse, or is it the lifecourse practice of relationship-centred nurturing of holistic well-being? Of course, it comes with a salary and a pension, probably much larger than those of the poor teacher who teaches the little dears how to read and write and sit down when they’re told.

Throw social pedagogy to the dogs, I say, I’ll have none of it. If civilizations rot and decay and decline and fall, it is from the inside out, not from the outside in.