217 Subjectifying Education and the Art of Living Together 6 and providing it with the telos it was previously missing. Wolterstorff’s (2004) shalom idea, as considered theoretically in Chapter 3.3, was discussed from the fifth meeting onwards. A member of the insider group described shalom as ‘a powerful term that helps to give words to things you do at school but that are hard to articulate’. A member of the outsider group added that shalom can be seen as ‘God’s counterpart to the fall: Peace with Him, with your neighbour, loving God above all else and the neighbour as yourself… if that is your driving force when in contact with other people, this helps to put words to it’. Yet, another member of the outsider group initially perceived it as too abstract a term, later adding that ‘In our conversation, I saw that it is really very practical; you have to see shalom in a practical way’. The participants from the outsider group confirmed that the strength of the shalom idea is that it combines individual spirituality—in the sense of seeking and having peace with God through God’s justice in Christ—with the very practical aspect of social justice. A lifestyle of shalom entails practicing the gospel, not with strong words in the first place but through making a difference by means of practical deeds. In the sixth meeting, the shalom idea was considered in small groups of students and members of the conversational community, focusing on the question of how this idea could inform pedagogical action with regard to social injustice as inequality and adversity. Afterwards, the (senior) students were asked what they had learned and whether (and how) they would like to include such insights in DCU’s curriculum: St1 mentions the realisation that every child is created for eternity. St2 emphasises that every child should be seen as a gift from God. St3 sees it as a calling for Christian education to truly see children and aim at achieving their happiness. The students insist that the introduction to this theme in the curriculum should take place through real encounters, with St1 cautioning against including everything in this regard in the second grade. Looking back during the 16th meeting, one member of the outsider group observed that, above
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