Learning Care
I really enjoyed this TED talk by Dr. Michael Wesch. I even got a little bit emotional when watching it.
Dr. Wesch describes what we as youth workers and educators may have come across at one point or another - jaded students. We ourselves may even have felt like this as well. We look for the ways to make it to the end with the least amount of damage of difficulty. We go through the motions, we want teachers to tell us what exactly they need from us to give us a grade, we become fatigued, we get discouraged and feel defeated when we fail. But what if we see failure as an opportunity to continue to try? What if we don’t get told “no” but instead get told “not yet”? What if we detach a person from a grade? These are the questions Dr. Wesch asks himself and explores in his own classroom.
As I was watching this TED talk I instantly recognized a very very important component that Dr. Wesch practices as he’s exploring these ideas and that is care. Care is an essential part of learning and we are conditioned to separate care from education. Care is what makes the difference between passing by and engaging. Wesch makes this very clear when he describes having lunch with students to listen to them and understand their answers to 3 important questions: Who am I? What am I going to do? Am I going to make it?
He describes listening and learning to his students’ answers and understanding why they may be struggling in class or what it is they’re trying to achieve, or what may be going on outside of the class. He didn’t just take these answers and jot them down in a notebook only to forget about it later, but he also took it along himself to support the students’ needs. He began to see students behavior or performance in his class as a part of the entire person. He began to see the whole picture of his students and understand that they are whole people with whole lives and they go through trials and transformations and are the heroes of their story.
When we work with young people, we only see the part of themselves that they bring to school. We share only 6 out of the 24 hours of the day with them. It is when we care enough to learn about the other 18 hours, and the other pieces of their identities that we begin to understand their needs and can support them to feel empowered to keep learning.
I felt moved by this because I believe care is at the core of what makes a good educator and youth worker. We should care about our students, encourage them to try, and to cheer them on when they work towards their goals. Think about this: Who were your favorite educators? Why were they your favorite or most memorable? It’s almost certain that you’ll probably be thinking about the educator who showed you care, and saw you as a whole person, and likely supported your learning in a way that you needed.
Genevieve, I connected with much of what you wrote, and especially with those final questions in your conclusion. Yes, absolutely! All of my best learning experiences were with educators who sought to know me more and "saw me as a whole person." I agree that with the limited amount of time we spend with our students, we really only see the tip of the iceberg of the whole person submerged beneath. The word "care" resonated with me. I feel that students need to feel the love that should genuinely come from their teachers.
ReplyDeleteI really liked that you were able to boil everything down to one absolutely essential quality, care. And the thought provoking questions you offer that will make anyone who reads your post ask themselves, "what does it mean to care and how can I show it?"
ReplyDeleteI also got emotional while watching! It is really sad that something as important as care is missing from education. When I reflect back on my first year of teaching I think about if my students could feel that I really cared about them. I thought about all of the one on one conversations I could have had and didn't because I was too overwhelmed with grading or something else that didn't matter as much. Next year I will definitely be having lunch with each of my students. Those valuable conversations are what make the difference.
ReplyDeleteGenevieve! Wow I really love your connection to care. Care towards your students is such an important part of being a teacher, but is so often forgotten. There is the whole idea that you shouldn't smile until winter break so they "respect" you. But I agree with you, that if we put care at the forefront of our educational experiences we would have fewer students just passing by and more being engaged in class. Great job!
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