290 Chapter 9 the self. A pluralistic, fragmented society makes it clear that Christian teachers in particular must have (or cultivate) the courage to step outside their comfort zone to meet others. The two great commandments of the Bible deserve to be central in a time characterised by super-diversity and super-complexity. They have everything to do with each other—that is, to love God above all else implies loving one’s neighbour as oneself. At this point, religion has something to contribute to citizenship education. This is certainly true of faith in Christ. While this calls for a distinctive way of life (through love of God), it also urges us to follow Jesus in His love for fellow human beings and the world. God’s involvement in the world and, especially, Christ’s presence in the world call for reconciliation with God, restoration of relationships and a servant attitude. These three elements form the heart of the Christian faith identity and demonstrate that broad citizenship education begins with the cultivation of a basic attitude of service. In terms of this attitude, ‘being’ has a more central place than ‘doing’. The ‘doing’ (e.g. working for, working with students) is all about relationships—being able to ‘be’ in the world with each other, being connected to each other. Students learn to cooperate and live together despite and also because of their differences (e.g. ethnic, cultural, social, political, sexual, religious). Education is not merely intended to serve the economy or the labour market and, therefore, success in this regard cannot be determined solely based on scores and measurable results. In a classic sense, schools serve family and society. In a time of great diversity and fragmentation, when the socialising effect of social groups, churches and society as a whole has diminished, the classic function of the school as a mini-society should again strongly come to the fore. Pedagogically and educationally, this means that teachers must recognise the importance of community building. In the broad personality formation of students in particular, it must become clear that preparing for education is not an individualistic event through which you, as a student, move as effectively and efficiently as possible towards gaining a diploma. Experiencing education as a vocation or assignment does not allow for such an approach. As man is a relational being in need of the other, teaching should be exemplary when it comes to practicing the central commandment of love. Pedagogically, this means seeing others truly, valuing fellow students in their uniqueness, inviting them to belong to the group (the mini-society), helping them to be there for others themselves, and realising that their own personhood is also served by it. Where educational processes and systems urge rapid ongoing action to achieve new goals each time, this requires a basic attitude of slowing down, interrupting and supporting—slowing down learning processes to come to each
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