Today’s session was on the topic of love, care and belonging. We had to read two articles before the session. I read about ‘The Virtues of Unfulfillment: Rethinking Eros and Education in Plato’s Symposium’. This looked at the role of love and the idea of fulfilment. I also read D’Olimpio’s ‘Ethics of Care’ from 2019, which discussed the (stereotypical) role of men and women when it comes to care.
During the session we were spilt into groups to discuss what we thought of the different articles we had read, and how they overlapped.
One of the questions on padlet, that interested our group and caused a discussion was ‘Dramatic friendship – the teacher has to be emotionally vulnerable whilst staying professional / conveying knowledge. This can be a difficult balance?’
We discussed how being vulnerable with the students is ok if it’s about a past experiences that we failed at but learnt from rather than a current emotion of how we feel today. There are clear boundaries between a student and teacher, the student wants the teacher to be friendly, supportive and approachable (like a parent) but not a friend. Being a teacher was often compared to being like a good parent. The similarities are the idea of nurturing the student, wanting them to do well and supporting them emotionally.
We also discussed the idea of ‘lacking’ being positive not negative as it pushes the student/teacher to keep learning and challenge themselves. We discussed the idea that there is a cycle where the student learns from the teacher but also that the teacher is a student and keeps gaining knowledge.
In our breakout groups we looked at ‘how to integrate a pedagogy of care into teaching’.
We believe this can be done by helping to create an environment that enables the students to show empathy to each other, connect on an equal footing and not feel judgement. We thought to help these relationships, you could create an ice-breaker as this is important to allow the students to introduce themselves. We though a workshop with a simple element to unite the group (an emoji at the start of the lesson, a poem or drawing) could stimulate discussion. These discussions could take the form of a break-out group, or if the students wanted to be anonymous (this often allows them to feel freer) we could use a whiteboard, menti or padlet.
I took a lot from this session as I think it is important for lectures to not just teach but also allow space for pastoral care in their teaching (enabling the student to access it, if, they require it). Before ‘blended learning’ a teacher would pack up at the end of a session which would allow time for the student to ask question or share their thoughts, but this is no longer an option. I noticed in a session with Lindsay that she stays online until everyone has left. I now tell the students that I will do this if anyone want to chat to me at the end. Some have taken me up on this offer.
This session has really made me think about my wider role as a teacher and how the relationship between myself and the students has certain ‘boundaries’ that support the student and doesn’t confuse the roles (friendly not friend). But also, that ‘the ethics of care is in itself of inclusion’ Waghid.Yusefo (2019). This is facilitated by verbal and nonverbal expressions, knowing the students name, answering concerns or questions and engaging with the students to learn by creating interesting and relevant lessons.