Age does not confer an automatic right to dominate children under the banner of protection, according to reflections on adultism published in The Conversation.
- Educational practices rooted in age hierarchy risk masking raw power dynamics beneath benign intentions.
- Co-constructed boundaries replace arbitrary prohibitions to foster actual autonomy rather than mere compliance.
- Learning to set personal limits requires adults to master consent rather than punishing resistance.
Good educational intentions frequently conceal underlying power structures that treat chronological seniority as an automatic entitlement. We have been conditioned to view age as a marker of inherent superiority, yet the argument from experience often serves as a pathway to arbitrary rule.
This dynamic frames the passage of time as a capital asset rather than examining the qualitative value of human experience. Routine, conformity, and trauma do not grant individuals the legitimacy to impose their views on others.
“[T]u n’as pas assez d’expérience,” and “Tu verras quand tu seras grand·e,” serve as pseudo-justifications deployed by elders to override consent, The Conversation reported. Educational postures that bypass children’s autonomy often rely on the assertion that boundaries are necessary to prevent chaos.
Establishing a structural framework remains essential for any collective venture, preventing the rise of informal oligarchies. Activist Jo Freeman documented in her 1972 essay on the tyranny of structurelessness how unmanaged groups eventually succumb to hidden power imbalances based on seniority. Education operates similarly, where love and vocation often mask the infrapolitique of human relationships.
“[I]l est inutile et dégradant de proposer, à la place, de faux objets techniques aux enfants,” noted pedagogical approaches such as Montessori or Freinet, rejecting toy knives that fail to cut. Instead of imposing unilateral bans that stunt the development of physical dexterity and balance, educators can co-construct safety rules alongside children. Democratic radicalism demands that a collective establish its own rules rather than imposing them from above.
Mastering the ability to say no functions as a core component of mutual education and genuine consent. Parental self-sacrifice often backfires when adults suppress their own boundaries, teaching children that ceding personal autonomy is desirable. Adults frequently grow impatient with children’s resistance because unresolved internal servitude makes them intolerant of dissent.
“[R]efuser de céder à autrui n’est pas de la tyrannie,” Sébastien Charbonnier explained in a 2022 interview with Philomonaco, distinguishing boundary-setting from domination. Rejecting a proposed activity does not constitute exploitation or tyranny. When children push back against familiar arbitrariness, they expose the unexamined hierarchies woven into daily life.
“[A]dulte – achevé – mort : nuances d’un même état. On a jeté ses atouts. Avant de mourir, on devient tout os,” wrote Henri Michaux in his 1938 poem Enfants, highlighting the rigidity that accompanies finalized maturity. Children require no top-down education predicated on alleged incompleteness, but rather participate in a reciprocal transformation grounded in shared vulnerability.
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