Multiple Self of Children and Alignment to the Place : A Possibility of Making a New Story

Abstract

It is said that the norm consciousness of children has been degenerating. However, I am much surprised to see that children align themselves with their friends. They never have everything their own way and live through aligning themselves with others. The background of such alignment is the loss of large story in our modern society. In this thesis, firstly I take up an episode in a counseling room, interpret the episode and explicate the worlds and selves of children. The result is that children make stories of alignment on each occasion and change the space into the place of dwelling. Stories of alignment prevent children from being isolated and give them the place of dwelling. However, at the same time, stories of alignment are not based upon everyday life and therefore have no successiveness or otherness. Those who live by stories of alignment have multiple selves. Next I search for a possibility of moral education. I show that the system of self-determination has a limit and grope for changeover of stories of alignment. As the result, it is not effective to force moral values to children but effective to give children a plain moral education on the basis of daily life. Concretely it is important for teachers to lay a stress on dialogue and to prepare a place where children can be faced with their own negativeness.