¶ … Education
When it comes to pedagogy, the art of teaching, there are many different interrelationships among different theories of knowledge, theories of learning, conceptions of curriculum and approaches of broad inquiry for the purposes of schooling. Every teacher is faced with a challenge to effectively convey his or her message of knowledge and inspire today's youth. It takes a certain amount of passion and consistency to pursue such a career.
This paper will argue the validity of Nel Noddings' groundbreaking work on the notion of care and take a look at her book Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. The thesis born out of the reading will also touch on her other works as well. To pursue a just argument that the notion of care works today, this paper will also look at Aristotle's Ethics. By examining his work, the paragraphs below will conduct a theoretical conversation or argument between the two educators. This conversation will explore their different ideas about ethics and morality. This argument will examine how these ideas apply to education today. More specifically, it will look at examples of inner-city experiences at the elementry school level in the Los Angeles Unified School District. By providing these samples of leadership in the classroom, one can argue that a blend of theories is used on a daily basis in the classroom. Is this method successful? What kind of impact do these theories have in the classroom?
Much of Noddings and Aristotle's ideas are found in basic human nature. It is reasonable to assume both can be used. Is this at all possible? Is Noddings' theory too liberal and modern? Is Aristotle's point-of-view out-dated and archaic? Are his ideas too masculine centered while Noddings' are too feministic? Will each of their arguments stand up as theory or will only one stand out as the victor? What are the possibilities? Are there limitations to each idea? This paper will attempt to answer many questions that result as a juxtaposition of these works.
Noddings and Aristotle: A Hypothetical Conversation
If these two great thinkers were to meet today at a table for quiet conversation, what would they say to each other? What kind of dialogue, debate or argument would result? It is clear that each teacher would clarify their stand and thoughts on educational theories used for schooling. They may even agree on some points but I believe that each would be at opposite ends of the spectrum from each other. How does this concept shift our thinking about education? Does the literature need further elaboration? Are there new concepts born out of the reading experience? Does this complicate the original assumption or expand upon it?
Noddings' Argument
Nel Noddings is closely identified with the promotion of the ethics of care; the argument that caring should be a foundation for ethical decision-making. Her first major work Caring explored what she described as a woman's approach to ethics and moral education. Her argument starts from the position that care is basic in human life. All people want to be cared for (Noddings, 2002, p.11). She starts from the position that while men and women are guided by an ethic of care, natural caring or a form of caring that does not require an ethical effort to motivate it (although it may require considerable physical and mental effort in responding to needs) can have a significant basis in women's experience. Natural caring, therefore, is a moral attitude and considered a longing for goodness that arises out of the...
Education In the wake of the recent globalization, education has emerged as one of the most necessary tools for the field. For globalization to be realized on a large scale, the public has to be well conversant in matters concerning education. However, this has come to pass just a mirage, owing to the poor standards of education amongst some sectors of the public. Immigrants have suffered the most, and it is
Education Richard Rodriguez and Mike Rose both write about their education. In "I Just Wanna Be Average," Mike Rose recounts his experience in Catholic school as an Italian-American from a working class family background. Because of a school error, he was placed in the vocational tract at school. The experience taught Rose a lot about the low expectations place on students, the lack of effective role models in the classroom, and
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