Max van Manen's book "Pedogogical Tact: Knowing what to do when you don't know what to do" (2015), is cultivating a lot of connections for me between the parent-child-nature relationship and a type of  "pedagogical thoughtfulness" (p.11) that may emerge from this experience. I can think back to my own reflections on the parent-child-nature relationship and the actions and insights of participating parents in my family nature club study and find examples of what I believe could be a type of "sensitive personal pedagogy" (p.11) developing for individuals.

What is pedagogy? I assumed I knew...something to do with the act of teaching...maybe?

 Van Manen describes pedagogy as a reflective process of determining appropriate and inappropriate "ways of acting and interacting with children" (p.33).  He describes this process as often ethical in nature and involves uncertainty and  "the doubting, questioning, and reflecting on our actions and practices" (p.33). Who can't identify with this as a parent!!? Elsewhere in the book, Van Manen refers to this process as a type of "pedagogical wondering" (p.18)

According to Van Manen pedagogy, as a notion, is rarely used in the educational English language community and thus there is an opportunity to develop a pedagogical language that is   "a more sensitive attuning to the reality of the adult-child relations." (p.11). This "sensitive attuning" may speak to some of the experiences we had as parents reflecting on the parent-child-nature relationship during my study. Such an example emerging from my study maybe in the experience described by participating parents as the parent and child learning and growing together — a kind of reciprocating pedagogy.

This is so exciting for me in this phase of my research! It makes me think that possibly nature as partner in the adult-child reality has a role to play in influencing pedagogy or "pedagogical tact".  Or at least is a platform to isolate and explore the parent-child relation and how a pedagogy may develop.

Perhaps the PCN relationship provides the parent an opportunity to explore their own "sensitive personal pedagogy" or "thoughtful pedagogy" with their child or children. I think this could be an interesting angle in my analysis in my research.

As part of my analysis, there could be an opportunity to identify "pedagogical moments" (p.35) in the experience of the PCN relationship for families who participated in this study. Van Manen describes a pedagogical moment as "...the ability to actively distinguish what is good or appropriate from what is less suited or inappropriate for children or young people in a particular moment" (p.35)

Other quotes that ground and provoke ideas around a "thoughtful pedagogy" emerging around the PCN relationship from the book so far:

"The practice of cultivating one's pedagogical thoughfulnesss and tact is the response to the challenge of approaching each situation with respect and attentiveness" (p.35)

"It is knowledge that issues from the heart as well as from the head" (p.35)

Phenomenological Reflections on Pedagogy or Pedagogical Stories p.14

"...long-term latency of pedagogical events belongs to the silent secrets of the narrative themes of our lives." (p.16)

"Of course, the child also influence the adult. The pedagogical relation is complex, and in part it signifies also a process of self-development and self-understanding for the adult" (p.17)

"...the unfolding of our pedagogic nature." (p.19)

"Upon reflection the meaning of pedagogy in the adult-child relation is profoundly enigmatic." (p.20)

"...I use the term "pedagogy" to refer to this primordial adult-child relation that is biological and cultural, ancient and present, mundane and mysterious, sensuous and sensitive to the ethical demand as it is experienced in pedagogical relations, situations and actions." (p.20)


  

Here, I share some of my concluding take aways from reflecting on my parent-child-nature relationship during this program and study:

• I set out to build a nature connection for my son. What I discovered is in the end the parent-child-nature (PCN) relationship created the opportunity to reconnect myself to the natural world - which I didn't realize I was missing. Going out into a natural setting with a child as my companion demanded me to slow down, follow another's lead, and experience the curiosities of the natural world through a child.  I'm starting to feel that parental reconnection to the natural world, or perhaps to their former child in nature, has an important role to play in connecting our children. 

 

•  To symbolize my current appreciation of the PCN relationship, I gravitated towards an old caribou antler as part of a reflection activity during the study's concluding focus group. The growing of the antlers represented the developing PCN relationship with the idea of new 'branches' evolving in this relationship with my son over time. The shedding of the antlers, as part of the natural cycle, symbolizes the shedding of my previous understandings and assumptions as a parent with my child in nature. The fact that this cycle of growing and shedding is an old cycle for the caribou symbolized, for me, that the PCN relationship is an old cycle as well. And that for the purpose of this study we are only giving a name to this old relationship and the time to pay some attention to it through our reflections and develop an appreciation for what it can offer us as parents/families in the new millennium.