Can School Become Therapeutic?  Fatima Alaoui (Casablanca, Morocco)   C6

While the primary objective of the school is to teach and give children knowledge and to encourage them to want to learn, it can also have the vocation of being both a place where one learns, and at the same time for some children, a place where we can treat them. Instead of being a place which divides, which shows differences, it would be a place which brings together, and teaches children about compassion and living together. In this case, what are the tools to be used to help children who have difficulties so that they can adapt and they can follow a normal circuit rather than being educated straight away in a specialized circuit. It is a somewhat idealistic vision because everything does not happen as in a dream. There is no magic and things: emotions, behaviors and thoughts have to be managed day-by-day for years. The school thus designed can provide children with special needs with the means - the tools - to become happy and fulfilled children. While children who are doing well would find in school the joy of evolving in an environment that supports and reassures them. We are trying to deepen our reflection on what we do and how to explain the changes that take place over the months, even years, to relate them to the studies on consciousness and in particular self-awareness. When I returned to Morocco after many years studying in France, I wanted to dedicate my career to knowing children. I then had the opportunity to create a small school in Casablanca. In this context where everything was done to promote the comfort of the children and the people who worked with me, I had the opportunity to make observations and to think about each particular case, especially when dealing with children with difficulties. In these cases we did everything to improve the situation of those children and that they could follow the group of which they were a part. I will talk about one of those children and I will give my point of view of that sort of psychotherapy and how we could help him to 'create his mother' in him and to be able to live like other children and help him to appropriate language and express himself and then want to learn and be part of a group.