War dilemmas: educational approach through debate

Abstract

It is widely believed that contemporary European societies are particularly violent. This is an opinion not verified by the data which indicate a decline in violence. Perhaps we have become accustomed to living in relatively peaceful societies. For 3/4 of a century, European societies have not experienced wars on their territory (except in the case of ex-Yugoslavia) and therefore only a small part of the very elderly population has personal memories of the violence linked to the Second World War. Both parents and teachers have read it in history books, seen it in the cinema or on television, it is a completely new experience for them too. The war caused by the Russian invasion of the territory of Ukraine however, now requires addressing the issue in the family and above all at school to give young people guidance to reflect and evaluate the phenomenon. Nine topics are proposed, to be addressed in class using the debate methodology.