„You need two to make a child and a whole village to bring it up “
African proverb
Integral and lifelong learning have from the very beginning been the essence of the actions and activities of the Breuninger Stiftung. As we understand it, integral learning is based upon four pillars as defined by the Dakar World Education Forum in 2000: learning to be - learning to do - learning to know - learning to live together.
This comprehensive approach to learning feeds on the expertise which we have gained over the last 30 years in developing a systemic approach for learning disorders. „Integrated Learning Therapy“ is based on a system model of several vicious circles which pupils get in when their learning process fails. Turning vicious circles back into proactive learning requires supportive relationships. The basis of succesful learning is to establish solid self-esteeem and confidence in your own abilitiesi and the support of your teachers and parents. These results namely that education is much more relation-based than content-based has nowadays been confirmed by research.
As early as in the nineties, we invited successful experts to our "Bildungsdiskurs" (discourse on education and learning) in order to learn from them how to achieve good education. Today, there is no doubt that the classical pedagogy is no longer enough –it has to be extended to an understanding for the school and families as two interacting systems creating their own values and norms. The reality in our classrooms requires that school must be valued and nurtured as a crucial part of our society. In 2006 the Freudenberg Foundation started to pursue this approach consistenly with its project of „Ein Quadratkilometer Bildung“ (One squarekilometer Education). Meetings and networking between schools, community organizations and families are essential to improve the quality of education in the sense that „no child should get left behind“. A first project has developed in Berlin-Neukölln and first positive results can now be seen. The Breuninger Foundation became partner to co-create the second „Quadratkilometer Bildung“ for Berlin-Moabit. In this way, we want to trigger off a nationwide development and support it by cooperating with other foundations, associations, and institutions.
