Inducing belonging

What creates or induces a sense of belonging can take many forms, but the essence can be summed up in this simple quote, the fox's secret to the Little Prince:

"It's the time you've wasted on your rose that makes your rose so important."

Obviously, since it's the rose he chose, the rose he sheltered, the rose whose caterpillars he killed (except for two or three for the butterflies). It's her he's listened to complain, or boast, or even sometimes keep quiet about...

Applied to the world in general and, by extension, to the Internet, we find the feeling of belonging to one's school, family, neighborhood, club, site, community, etc., insofar as we've made ourselves a part of it. In this sense, the time "wasted" by the Little Prince is a good description; he didn't count.

Does using Wikipedia or the Internet develop our sense of belonging to Wikipedia or the Internet? Obviously not. Does using Facebook increase our sense of belonging to Facebook? Not much, but logging on and keeping up with friends via Facebook does give us a sense of belonging to our group, which builds up as we contribute.

Belonging includes a non-countable element of attention, listening, affectivity and relevance to the other: the care taken is the bond that holds the parts that belong together.It may be a gift, but it's a gift that's appreciated and appreciated, well given and well received; "there's a little bit of us in there".

Inducing belonging

Taking the point of view of an immigrant, we realize the importance of the quality of official, recognized acceptance in the development of belonging: from the moment we accept the contribution of the Other, the feeling of belonging in the Other becomes possible.

So we have two elements to play with in education and on educational websites to develop belonging: valid opportunities to contribute, and real opportunities to recognize contributions. Recognition is the driving force behind motivation in learning or at work. If you don't show recognition, you can't expect your criticism to be received, nor can you expect the contributions of your learner or collaborator.

If someone adds a comment, you've already got a form of recognition; if, on top of that, others appreciate the comment, you've got recognition.

At the level of a class, a school, parents, the locality, the region, the feeling of belonging is extended to sometimes delirious proportions.The sense of belonging to a class, to a school, to parents, to the local community, to the region, is growing to sometimes delirious proportions, with entire regions rallying behind a champion, a star, a genius from their own milieu.The feat, the work, the valuable gift of one is recognized and appreciated by others. The others develop a sense of belonging! What can we say about their author or their work?

Apparently, the more opportunities to contribute can be developed in scope, variety, originality and number, the greater the potential for recognition and belonging. We don't just accept monetary contributions.

Signs of recognition

We can recognize what belongs to us. The development of signs of recognition - slogan, theme song, banner, T-shirt, ring, crest, trophy, etc. - has always been part of the ingredients of a sense of belonging... That's all some people remember, but it's better than nothing...

And the excluded?

The eventual integration of the excluded depends as much on their ability to contribute, which they possess to varying degrees, as on their environment's ability to accept their contributions.

Recognition of a mediocre contribution sounds false, and there's a shame in being falsely recognized. This leaves two avenues: developing capabilities and creating an environment or context capable of accepting or valuing contributions.

Kindergartens and homes for the elderly are examples; league tables, social recognition of outstanding efforts or special days are others.

The idea is always to be able to contribute, to accept contributions and new forms of contribution.

And these excluded people, both in terms of their numbers and the extent of their loneliness, are undoubtedly the best barometer of our humanity or dehumanization. In education, we talk as much about those excluded from school as we do about the Internet sites that enable them to learn.

Some references on belonging in action:

• Community Foundations of Canada - Vital Signs - Belonging
• Belonging - Living links
• Developing a sense of belonging at university

"What constitutes a nation is not speaking the same language, or belonging to a common ethnographic group, it is having done great things together in the past and wanting to do even more in the future."

[Ernest Renan]