TAL 101
Sep 28, 2012
Reflect on Noddings’s Care Basically, Nel Noddings poses a disagreement on the liberal education of how schools provided a dangerous model of education with standardization on fulfill the text materials on achieving its academic levels. Apart from academic standards in school curricula, she strongly encourage that education should be mainly focus on “growth of competent, caring, loving, and lovable people”, in her words, which are more suitable for today’s schools in 21 century. It was very impressive that at the first part of the article, Nel Noddings raise a question of “What do children need for education”, follow on the national answer of children need more on the “academic training” which will benefits for both satisfying countries’ needs and safe them from “poverty, crime, and other evils of current society”. Ironically, this is my third college year and I forgot most of what I have learned from my mathematics and sciences teachers, of course, I have no contribution to the society, and my country doesn’t has a strong need on me. Moreover, I am not in that kind of poverty which needs someone to save me from an impoverished situation, I did no crime, and not that evil to the society except sometimes I do not pay quarters for parking. With Nel Noddings idea, she against an ideology of “control that forces all students to study a particular, narrowly prescribed curriculum devoid of content they might really care about”. Her words go deeply into my heart and I think I found an educator who understands me to some extent.
Let me recall when I would have to use mathematics in my life recently. It was this evening I calculate the 15% tips that I have to pay, yesterday I went to Publix and figured out by counting days when will the milk expired, or looked at my bank account and calculate the total amount that I spent for last month. I am not interested on mathematics or sciences; I think basic operation like add, subtract, multiply, and divide is enough for me, and I don’t think algebra or calculus will operate on my future daily life unless I am a great man like Einstein or Edison, but obviously I am not. However, I have to take these classes as requirements, pass it with standardize exams, and then forget it, as a cycle goes year by year, generations to generations. But what’s more irony is that, we require our children with those requirements too, as Nel Noddings that “The vast majority of adults do not use algebra in their work, and forcing all students to study it is a simplistic response to the real issues of equity and mathematical literacy.” Therefore, by asking “Why should children learn what we insist they "can" learn?”, as for me, I agree with Nel Noddings concept of the main focus on education that students learn things that they interested instead of force them to learn a same dose of academic knowledge in all things, because everyone has their own unique talents and interested enormously. I do agree that academic knowledge is essential for education, it is important with skills of communication, comprehending, and logical thinking. Yet with Nel Noddings concepts, education should also balance on students’ morality and emotional growth and let students focus on what they are interested in.
I think this idea is realistic with the suggestions that she list out for a more adaptable education, especially for relax the impulse to control. I read a true story from internet told by a father. The story was about his daughter went to primary school, her teacher gave her an picture of a person is climbing a tree, and ask the class what can they see from the picture. Everyone gave a standard answer that we cannot climb tree, except this little girl who said “this tree grandpa looks too lonely, a person climb and play with tree grandpa”, yet she was forced to change to the standard answer. It is not a good idea that set a uniform requirement and requires all students give out a proper answer that adults think most suitable, yet actually block their ways of creative thinking.
In addition, with education of caring rather than tradition control on students, I believe students can learn more on the concept of moral. With Nel Noddings’s suggestions, the relationship between students and teachers should be altering into a closer relationship, a way of “listening as well as talking”. She said “give at least part of every day to themes of care” to children. I believe if every teacher wants to listen the voice inside students, following their meaningful interested, build up their correct morality, social news like tell friends as a joke after killing a girl would reduce. When teacher care about children, establish a friendly connection, take care of affiliative needs, and listen what children want to show patiently, their morality would be more positively.
All in all, Nel Noddings strongly emphasize her idea that education should be structured around themes of caring instead of traditional disciplines. In my opinion, traditional disciplines has its reason that has been always taking an important position on education field, however, it can be more desirable combine and make a balance with suggestions on the promotion of caring and morality, because every child is unique and you cannot require them with the same strict criteria which may inhibit them from curiosity and creativity.