The term educational shared responsibility refers to the responsibility for the education of the child, shared between family and school. Share responsibility means being aware that the well-being of the child depends on “me teacher” and “you parent”, and that what we both do is absolutely important: this is why we need mutual support.

To clarify this concept, we can avail ourselves of the example of a football team: in a team we find many players having different roles, the purpose of every player is to win the game, players share the responsibility for victory or defeat.

We can consider all the people dealing with a child as a team having victory as common goal. Each person will have a different role. Each player is essential. We can imagine that child’s parents, or those who take their place, are the champions of the team. Nevertheless, the two champions alone are not able to play the game, they need a team. The team may meet victories and defeats in the matches, but if they keep in mind the objective and the need to collaborate, it will be able to come up with the season final victory.

Who is part of the team that pursues the well-being of the child?

Parents and teachers of course, but also all the adults of reference, distant although significant relatives, neighbors that spend time with the child, other school operators who interact with him/her. All these people have an educational shared responsibility and have to work together to achieve specific objectives. This attitude does not arise spontaneously from the only awareness of the task. It needs preparation, mutual understanding, mutual adaptation: indeed, even a football team needs much training.

Keeping in mind these concepts CTM implemented in January 2016 – in the frame of the project co-financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and aimed at strengthening the social and educational services for minors in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon – an educational shared responsibility course addressed to Ghassan Kanafani Early Childhood Center’s staff in Rashidieh camp, Tyre, with the support of Dr. Palladino.