Please offer your comments regarding Noddings' view of the "issues" and themes of caring that surround our teaching and learning in our classrooms today but seldom are considered or given voice. Also consider how Palmer's message in chapter two relates to Noddings' thesis.
Consider the following questions as you comment.
1. Do you agree with the author that incorporating themes of care into schools is both achievable and desirable?
2. Noddings offers several examples of how themes of care might manifest themselves in the curriculum. Can you think of any others?
3. In today's high stakes accountability education climate, do you believe there is room for caring in the curriculum?
For those who didn’t have Noddings’ article, “Teaching Themes of Care,” I found it at http://www.bu.edu/sed/caec/files/CaecNewsFeb07.pdf .
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely I agree with Noddings that care should be incorporated into themes in any school; it is also very achievable, definitely desirable. When any facet of caring is shared within a classroom, no matter what subject area, that’s when the teacher has hooked the kids. Over my eleven years in the classroom, I have always tried to connect what’s happening in novels, writing, or current reading assignments to the students’ own lives, often asking them what they would do in the same circumstance. Especially with middle school students, a real connection to life must be made, or they don’t buy it. I affectionately call this the “me-we-us” world of thinking. Until they learn to care, allow themselves to see what they do and how they do it affect others, students live in the “me” world-it’s all about them. There could be a horrendous storm outside that knocks power out for miles around, and instead of thinking about people who may be without heat or those who are sick and don’t have their oxygen anymore, those “me” students are going to be thinking about what the rain is doing to their plans for the night and the heightened frizz of their hair. Once they begin to care, once they are shown how to make those connections, they start to move to the “we” world. They’ll start thinking about those people without heat and maybe even what they can do to help. The move to the “us” world begins when they realize that one individual can change things on a worldwide basis..just a little thesis of mine, but it plays into this. So, no matter what theme or unit I do with my kids, I am always connecting the care and respect aspects to it. Our school has themes every year; this year, it’s “It’s Not Easy Being Green”-a dual theme about recycling, reusing, and helping the environment, and also realizing that every person on Earth is different and that’s something to celebrate, not stare at and condemn. We’re departmentalized, but every teacher is on board, and it’s not difficult..and hint, hint, if it’s written into your Action Plan, you can apply for grants that will support it, so it’s not costly at all.
I think this very long paragraph answered just about all of the questions. The only thing I haven’t addressed is the connection to Palmer’s Chapter Two- “The Culture of Fear.” Students and teachers alike have great fears: the unknown, failure, high expectations, etc…The art of caring is a fantastic way to allay those fears. Just the few words that Palmer spoke to his “Student from Hell” showed that young man that Palmer cared enough to listen to him; he spoke and used his voice. He trusted Palmer enough to accept the caring offered. This goes back to “The Metaphor of Hope” where Chenfield’s theme really showed me that trust was an underlying theme as well. If teachers know and feel that administration cares and respects them, trust will follow, and maybe the vicious circle I spoke of previously could be turned around.
Thanks for sharing that link, Karon. I also found the article using Education Full Text from the CSC library link.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite quotes is, “nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” Nel Noddings would most likely agree. She believes that "we have not been doing our job well unless our students know that they are cared for and they have learned to care for others". For me, that means helping students understand that they have worth, that they are capable of success, and that they matter. It also means helping them understand that they need to respect and care for themselves and others. It is a tall order, and one that I agree takes everyone.
I agree with Karon that it takes work to get students moved from the “me” mentality to thinking about the “us” and “we”. I am very excited that more schools (preschool through college) are using more service learning projects to engage students in learning to care for their community. These projects can engage students not only in math and/or social studies to solve real problems; it allows them to make meaningful connections with the community. The service could include recycling paper, collecting tabs for the Shriner’s and even coming up with a design for a community center.
If we truly care for our students we will want what is best for them. Therefore, that care includes setting high expectations for ourselves and our students. It means finding those areas where our students shine and giving them ample opportunities for success. It means holding students accountable to do their best.
I just have to share this quote from Joanne Rooney’s article Principals Who Care: A Personal Reflection”, Ed Leadership March 2003
“A caring school is not a ‘soft’ school. We must not confuse caring with sitting in a warm circle, holding hands, and singing “Kum Ba Ya.” On the contrary, care involves a vigorous insistence on high expectations for students and teachers. Care rejects second-rate teaching and does not allow lame excuses for low achievement. Care requires a standard of equality for all students, regardless of how they look or what they bring to the schoolhouse door.”
Palmer’s story about the Student from Hell came to mind when I read that quote. Our students bring a lot of things to the schoolhouse door. I see teaching as meeting the student right where they are and helping them move forward. Palmer offered a listening and compassionate ear to the student that day-a gift of hospitality. He writes, “by offering hospitality, one participates in the endless reweaving of a social fabric on which all can depend-thus the gift of sustenance for the guest becomes a gift of hope for the host.”
I teach kindergarten at a K-2 primary school and incorporating themes of care into the school is not only achievable and desirable but it is already happening where I teach. Therefore, my opinion may be biased. I do however see the need for it at other grade levels and recognize that it may be much more difficult to achieve especially at the high school level where teachers have students for short periods of time for one subject only.
ReplyDeleteAt the primary level, teachers are very used to using the thematic approach to teaching and can be very creative to find ways to use those themes in the various subject areas. In fact, for those teachers who aren’t so creative, there are many theme resources available. Also, there are many traditional early childhood themes that are related to caring such as friends, family, and self-concepts.
Now that I’ve said that, I do think it is much harder for teachers to incorporate themes since we’ve had to put so much emphasis on achieving the standards and assessment. However, I feel that children need to feel safe to learn. If we can teach themes of care, then we can help children feel that safeness so they can learn. I don’t think schools can afford not to. Nodding mentioned the word “imaginative” when describing teachers who could be successful in teaching care. I think this the key to achieve that success – using imaginative ways to teach care.
I really liked Noddings examples although they really are for the upper grade levels. One of the ways Northwest School teaches caring every November is to participate in the Salvation Army’s Stuff a Bus program. Our school spends about two weeks collecting food items so we can stuff a school bus which goes to the actual Stuff A Bus at the Price Chopper parking lot. We teach the children to care for the hungry in their community but we also spend that time doing a lot of math too. The kindergarten children are introduced to tally marks and are quite good at it by the end of the two weeks. The older students practice adding the numbers and comparing each the class collections.
I also liked how Noddings definition of caring in the opening paragraph included “caring for self, for intimate others, for strangers and global others for the natural world and its nonhuman creatures, for the human-made world and for ideas.” At the primary level, I believe that teaching caring can start by teaching children about things which can lead to an appreciation for things, which can lead to caring for things. For example, several years ago at a public beach I witnessed a child, about 7 or 8 years old take a rock and throw it at a butterfly with the purpose of killing it. Unfortunately he was successful. I would have a hard time believing that children in a classroom who had witnessed the miracle of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly and watched their teacher gently let it go, could perform such an act. Hopefully those children have learned to appreciate the butterfly’s existence and therefore will care for them and other creatures in the future.
This article definitely relates to Palmer’s second chapter. Students must get over their fears in order to be able to learn and teaching the act of caring can help achieve that. If there is caring in a classroom, students can have a place where some of those fears can be erased. I am seeing a higher number of students coming to school with parents who lack the ability to care for their own children and these children have very real fears. If we want to stop this cycle, then we have to teach caring.
I agree with Diane and Ms. Noddings...caring is a real part of the primary culture. Our middle school staff are working very hard to incorporate it as part of their culture as well. They have a theme each year (much like Karon describes) that incorporates both team building activities, community service projects, and skills from the a variety of disciplines.
ReplyDeleteWe might as well start the school day with a group hug! I chuckled while pondering the chances of structuring curriculum around the theme of caring. Let’s see the federal government try to standardize elements of caring! I can see it now- “Jenny has exceeded the standard in demonstrating empathy, but fell short in both sharing and advocating for her peers.” It’s not that far fetched- think about it. I think that it is the responsibility of a good teacher to foster a caring environment through their daily actions and interactions with both children and adults. A message of caring will fail to have an effect on students, regardless of how the curriculum is structured, if the teacher doesn’t genuinely project this quality- think back to the first chapter of Parker’s book.
ReplyDeleteI also need to look at this question from the standpoint of the class’ only male. I think that a lot of adolescent boys feel that school is already too soft and fluffy. I can only imagine their disdain if all aspects of the curriculum were tied into the theme of caring. The word alone would cause a good deal of older students to cringe by the time they were in the middle grades- I believe the word respect is already regarded with similar exasperation. Don’t get me wrong here- I believe that a caring classroom environment is critical to student success- I guess I just sort of feel like I’ve just watched a sappy movie after getting through this week’s readings ;-)
Dale While reading Nodding’s, “Teaching Themes of Care”, I realized that caring is a crucial part of one’s learning process. I also think that most of us do teach caring unconsciously. I work at the middle school level and teachers do try to incorporate themes of care and try to create interdisciplinary units to promote connections within the disciplines. The one drawback that teachers encounter is the lack of time within a school day to collaborate with one another. Although, I do think that it is achievable and desirable in order for students to be successful.
ReplyDeleteNoddings offers many examples of how themes of care might manifest themselves in the curriculum. I think that including current events in the curriculum is very beneficial to use to incorporate caring into the curriculum. Students look at teachers as a teacher. Incorporating caring will help them realize that you are a real person just like them and that we are not there to merely teach them how to multiply or write a paper. We do really care about them as people.
Even though the focus is on accountability education climate, I agree with Noddings and Palmer. Teachers do care for students although, if students do not realize that or don’t feel that teachers care, then we are not going to reach students and they will not be available to learn. We do need to incorporate caring into the curriculum. I remember one student that I worked with years ago. He felt that nobody cared and so he didn’t try. At the age of 12 he could not read or write. I worked with him 1:1 for two years. Once he realized that someone did care he engaged in the learning process. Within those two years he had learned to read and write. He thanked me and wrote me a poem.
I am in complete agreement with Noddings that we should want more “from our educational efforts than adequate academic achievement,” and I feel that we can’t necessarily have one without the other. We cannot deny what stares many of us in the face everyday. So many students come to school not knowing how to really care for others, the environment, etc., and may not have anyone who deeply cares about them. This certainly affects the student and their ability to learn and put forth their best efforts.
ReplyDeleteAgain, teaching primary this seems to be an engrained part of the job, and children tend to be receptive to the theme of caring. I can see where for older students this may be more difficult to incorporate. Not that it isn’t important, but some students may feel awkward about it. However, I don’t think that for older students, or even younger students, that it has to be a separate theme. It’s the way the teacher speaks to the students and colleagues, it’s the tone of the classroom, it’s the way the expectations are presented, and it’s an activity or project (like the Stuff a Bus that Diane spoke of.) Noddings gave good examples of how teachers might incorporate it into their subject matter; however, this might be difficult due to curriculum demands and standardized testing.
In my belief many of us are teachers because we do care about others and want to extend our care for others and the natural world onto our students. It is the teacher’s responsibility to in any and every way possible teach this theme, and Noddings is right, regardless of what profession or “job” a person chooses their positive contribution to the world could be far more valuable. I am sure many students remember a “life lesson” that a teacher has taught them a lot longer than a specific math lesson. We see in today’s society that care is not always a theme at home, so as educators, it is more important than ever to teach and model it, hopefully helping to make positive changes in society. There has to be room for this in education.
I believe that incorporating themes of care into schools is most definitely desirable and achievable. I completely agree with Erin when she stated that most of us probably became teachers because we care.
ReplyDeleteAs Diane stated, in the primary schools we are already incorporating themes of care in our classrooms. Even though there already isn’t enough time in the day, it may be easier for elementary teachers to find time to teach care whereas secondary teachers usually have to cram in one content area into one period multiple times a day.
Especially in the secondary classrooms there is so much emphasis on standardized testing and the teachers are held very much accountable. When I taught third grade in Texas, there was hardly any time to teach anything (fun) since you were always teaching towards the test. Third grade was the first year the kids experienced anything like that and we basically started teaching them to get ready from Day 1 when the test wasn’t till February.
I think the best way to incorporate care in your classroom is to model, model, model! Respect is top priority for me and I believe if you do not model respect for your students, it will be hard for them to respect you as their teacher.
I agree with John. I found myself sighing and rolling my eyes quite often during this article. I am not comfortable sitting down with fifth graders to discuss caring for one another. I definately think that a classroom needs to be comfortable and inviting but so does everywhere else where humans interact. I believe if you get to know your students then they will know that you care about them. Obviously, students need to care about others as well but I dont think we need to explicitly teach it. If a student is being hurtful or ignorant, I would simply talk to that student privately about their behavior. If the behavior continues, then maybe that one individual would need some social skills help. I feel as though my classroom is a safe place for kids to be. They get along with each other. They compliment each other. They play kickball together every day at recess. I am going to continue to put my effort into teaching reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. The caring part is a natural part of the classroom. If we model good behavior, our students will follow.
ReplyDeleteI believe to a certain extent that incorporating caring themes is important. Getting kids to feel safe and have the freedom to share is something that is built within the classroom. To have a successful caring theme in your classroom it must be natural for the students to buy in.
ReplyDeleteNodding has several examples as to implement themes of care. I feel that it is more important for elementary to have the “warm, fuzzy feeling” in the classroom. Themes of care can be adapted for the middle and high school level. In my classroom I simply try to have contact with every student. I asked about how their game went, what plans they have for the weekend or how they did on a test. By asking my students about their personal and school life lets them know that I care.
In the article “Teaching Themes of Care” Nel Noddings vividly states the importance of incorporating themes of care in the school environment. He provides many great ideas on how to teach care in the educational curriculum, and these examples lead me to believe that it is both achievable and desirable to incorporate such themes. Nottings states on page 2, ”To have as our educational goal the production of caring, competent, loving, and lovable people is not anti-intellectual. Rather, it demonstrates respect for the full range of human talents…They (students) can be led to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to make positive contributions, regardless of the occupation they may choose (Notting, 2).” This very touching statement provides insight for teachers to keep in mind while developing themes of caring.
ReplyDeleteNottings provides a number of well thought out examples on the use of care in the curriculum. Being a teacher at the elementary level, I feel that the individuals I work with often discuss modes of caring, including friendships, team work, partner play, and the discussion of feelings. These elements are essential at an early age, and should be explored and expressed by students. For example, as a special educator, I co-teach with 2 teachers. When modeling how to play a game, we often act out a conflict, and ask the children how it should be resolved. This enforces problem solving, feelings, and partner play, all while modeling an activity; thus taking up little time in the lesson. Also, at this age, modeling is very powerful.
As stated above, I do agree there is room for caring in the curriculum, but it must be carefully tied into instructional activities. This must be done with a concrete understanding of the environment in which the school district is located. For example, Notting used an example of comparing the salaries of a teacher and cocaine dealer (Nottings, 3). In the district in which I work, many children live in households where drugs are apparent, and parents may very well be drug dealers. If a teacher did not take the time to get to know the environment, difficult situations may arise.
I agree with Noddings that care should be incorporated into our every day teachings. I also feel that it is much easier to do as a primary teacher. The children are at an age where they are more receptive to learning about caring for one an other. Teaching caring to older students can be uncomfortable for the students, which in return makes it harder to get the point across to them. I don't think that it is because they are not interested in caring but because they are at such a difficult age and feelings are hard to express, especially in front of other peers.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the idea that we spend so much time focusing on academic achievement and standardized testing that we lose the art of teaching caring to our students. We are so focused on getting each one of our students to meet whatever the standard may be that we lose focus on the little things that really effect the kids from day to day.
With that all said, I do believe that there is time to teach caring in our classroom. I know that there is time because we do it in our building everyday. Do I think we could spend more time on it? YES, but we have to fit everything else in too.