I agree with Noddings that care can be conveyed in many ways and that the most fundamental change required is one of attitude. I do not necessarily believe in his humanistic approach and complete revamping of the curriculum in favor for it, but I agree that a little revitalization couldn’t do any harm. Especially when considering the lack of general caring and loss of basic respect for one another that seems to be brewing, as can be seen in the past few generations of North Americans who are becoming more cynical and crass as violence, apathy, addiction and alienation grows in our society. By the same token, the antidote that I seek is not to see a complete resurgence of our traditional ways, but a revival of some traditional values would be nice.
In terms of the implementation of care, I believe that care should be done at the institutional level through participatory school actions and events. Student involvement is vital and students should be empowered to act and rewarded based on their acts of caring over their GPA. A school should be tied to its community and its centers, just as our subjects should be tied to the international events that occur regarding them.
The idea of interdisciplinary work is new to me since my arrival at UBC, so the idea Noddings has regarding the construction of caring themes through interdisciplinary projects is intriguing. I am curious though regarding the amount of interdisciplinary work that can be achieved at the high school level when taking into consideration the intensity of the subject matter preparation students need to further their education.
Of all the ways that noddings presents of how to teach themes of caring, the one that I actually believe in is to be prepared and to respond to events that occur in the school, community and world. I believe it is important for a teacher to stop and take “5” either to address the rampant problems that exist in our students’ lives or to infuse their lives with rich content that is occurring in the field of the subject area that I am teaching. In this sense it seems reasonable that themes of interest can be identified by individual teachers and addressed periodically throughout the year’s course work.
As for some favorite quotes to discuss in class, I like Noddings views on a humanistic curriculum that “can be powerful in expanding a student’s cultural horizons and in inspiring further study,” as well as that “themes of care connect our students and their subjects to great existential questions. “
