At the discussion panel held at the University of Turku on 13 November, Reporter Maija Lehmusvirta led the discussion involving President Martti Ahtisaari, Docent Linnéa Karlsson from the University of Turku, Professor of Sociology and specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry Jani Erola and Professor Elina Pirjatanniemi from Åbo Akademi, specialist in human rights. The group discussed how children can be raised into responsible adults from many points of view. One of the key words was empathy.
– Empathy is something that humans learn by living in a group. The group must have a good leader, an adult, who organises the group, children in relation to other children. The structure must have enough continuity, safety and peace, Karlsson stated.
The problem is that not all have a place in a group. Erola pointed out that also the sense of responsibility is handed down from parent to child. If the behaviour of the parent lacks empathy and responsibility, the child will not learn to demonstrate them either.
– Children cannot choose their own parents, Erola stated.
Severe Discipline Does Not Result in Empathy
According to Erola, there are currently adolescents in Finland who lack upbringing. When they gather to form groups, it may result in youth gangs such as in the metropolitan area, for instance, where according to reports adolescents have physically abused passers-by for fun.Stricter punishments have been proposed as a solution to the problem.
– Punishments do not work if the children and adolescents lack empathy. When the problem is difficult, then so are the solutions, Pirjatanniemi countered.
Karlsson’s proposition was to maintain clear structures in schools for as long as possible.
– Children need a solid group to grow in. The group has a certain value, and the older the child, the more importance the group has. Even students in a high school age would need a fixed place in a group and a teacher who knows them well. Therefore, I am not in favour of a high school system with no classes, Karlsson stated.
Pirjatanniemi stated that a good school environment and school dynamics are best work for human rights. As a concrete example, she mentioned the KiVA Antibullying Program, created at the University of Turku.
The Path to Responsibility
President Ahtisaari highlighted the significance of community by presenting his son Marko as a case in point. When the family travelled to Tanzania due to the father’s work in 1973, also grandfather Ahtisaari came along. He took care of little Marko, and the boy was also looked after by the African staff who gave the family a warm welcome.
– The time spent in Africa has had a significant positive impact, probably contributing to the fact that Marko, now 45 years old, has had a successful life. One of the key principles in our home regarding his upbringing was that home had to be a place where he could return under any circumstances, whether he had succeeded or not. I believe that this is the reason why we are in such good terms today, said President Ahtisaari.
Karlsson described a path towards accumulating the child’s sense of responsibility:
– First you do things for the child, then with the child, and eventually the child learns to do them him or herself. The concrete example set by parents has more influence than words, Karlsson said.
If problems occur, there are two possible reasons: either the child has been given responsibility too early or too late. What is the exact right amount of responsibility depends on the child.
– If the child’s stress level is too high because of poverty, malnutrition or domestic violence, for instance, the child is not capable of learning. On the other hand, if there is no stress at all, the child does not need to learn anything, said Karlsson.
What Will Finland Be Like in 50 Years?
In recent decades, an increasing share of educational responsibility has shifted from the homes to the schools. President Ahtisaari stated that, as women have entered working life and grandparents no longer live nearby, the situation of families has altered significantly.
– Parents have less time for their children than before, which has shifted a larger educational responsibility to teachers, concluded Ahtisaari.
As Pirjatanniemi pointed out, in a perfect world, everyone would have a perfect family. As this is not the case, the task of the school is to even out the structures. Finnish children are more well off compared to children elsewhere in the world, but problems exist also in Finland. For instance, polarisation constitutes a rising threat.
The gap between children and adolescents in a good position and a poor has widened position in terms of health, financial and social situation, Karlsson said.
This led Pirjatanniemi to raise a question: if the current trend continues, what will Finland be like in 50 years?
Towards Becoming a Country That Works for Peace
The discussion culminated the Ahtisaari Day, celebrated for the fourth time. The tradition initiated from the idea of working group on the country brand led by Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, who was working as the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs at the time. President Ahtisaari and his Crisis Management Initiative CMI accepted the challenge, travelling across the country and taking part in the celebrations of the day. This year, the public event took place in Turku – next year, the location will be Rovaniemi in Lapland.
The words of Rector Kalervo Väänänen of the University of Turku summarised the message of the evening:
– We must create the kind of growth environment where as many children as possible can be carried along.
After the event, Rector Kalervo Väänänen from the University of Turku was attempting to accompany President Martti Ahtisaari to have a coffee, but dozens of people from the full audience wanted to shake hands with President Ahtisaari and have a few words with him.
Text: Erja Hyytiäinen
Translation: Aino Koivisto
Photos: Hanna Oksanen
