During a conversation last week I was asked "at what age should children be introduced to the deliberative approach?". My immediate answer was "from birth". But research has found social capacity is limited for several years as brain development finishes after birth. Nonetheless, as a parent I can model and demonstrate the ideals of mutual respect, inclusiveness, rational discourse and cooperation as part of my everyday ethics.
Yesterday I read a superb book to my three and five year old children called Daft Bat, written by Jeanne Willis and humorously illustrated by Tony Ross. It begins with the arrival of Bat to a community of animals, who talks about an umbrella keeping her feet dry, the sky below and a rising river that threatens to wet her ears. The animals declare her quite barmy and run in fear. But Wise Owl suggests that all the animals try to view things from Bat's point of view. The illustrations show the big animals then hanging from trees too, and the text is shown upside down forcing the reader to flip the book over. So the mountain did have its pointy bit at the bottom! All the animals apologised.
For the first time, I could start to explain to my children what I am studying at university.
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