178 Chapter 5 fragmented society is, therefore, in the historical context of DCU and Reformed primary and secondary schools, a complex requirement. The validity of this analysis is underpinned by an address given in November 2019 by Wim Büdgen, chairman of DCU’s supervisory board to DCU’s resonance group on identity matters (Büdgen, 2019). Büdgen discussed the topic of ‘opvoedingsverlegenheid’, which can be translated as parenting shyness, which Christian parents and educators (in families, churches and schools) feel when they face the rapidly changed cultural reality of the postmodern, open, dynamic society in which they live, not anymore as one of the constituent social pillars but as a small and vulnerable minority. As a ‘mayor complication’, Büdgen perceived ‘the topic of implicit or explicit learning’ (p. 4). On this topic, a longer quotation is required as an explication of how the reality of a new world and a changed societal position was discussed at DCU (2): For centuries, the transfer of values and norms, but also of confessional doctrine, took place by way of implicit learning (…) Things were passed on by parents and catechists, contents were memorised, and the context of life made the narrations and memorisation gradually becoming relevant for the younger generation. Great things grow slowly. As the everyday context moves further from the things we want to transmit, we slowly but surely shift from more implicit towards more explicit learning. From an early age, we want our children to understand what values and norms are about, like a kind of compensation for a context that becomes less and less helpful (…) But the internalisation of beliefs only takes place to a very limited extent through endless explanation. Internalisation takes place indirectly through relevance derived from the context. Very practically: identification figures, the concrete lives of people around us, gaining experiences by imitation of others are invaluable for internalisation (…). (Büdgen, 2019, p. 4) Büdgen (2019) examined the importance of identification figures and how they learn to interact with broader society, subsequently stipulating a specific problem: Many of us grew up in a protected way unto this day. We often live in communities with a clear orthodox stamp. And not a few also work in the same protected environment. The question arises: Do we actually know from our own experience what it means to maintain your individuality in the midst of dissenters and yet be loyal to dissenters, for example, in our work or in 2 Translations of Büdgen’s address, originally in Dutch, are mine.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTk4NDMw