Reading Analysis - The One-Caring as Teacher

     Looking back at the years I have spent in school I see I have had two main types of teachers: teachers who care about their students and teachers who don't. I've had teachers go above and beyond their call of duty for their students. They set aside time before and after school to make sure students understand the material. They come up with new and exciting ways to prevent their students with information. They engage their students. I've also had teachers who sat in the front of the classroom, read notes from a sheet of paper, told us to copy what he or she said and then simply tested us on that. There was never an effort to engage his or her students. The teacher never offered any extra help or seemed to put any energy into being a teacher. Unfortunately, a majority of my teachers acted this way; however, the teachers who made class come alive and who put their students needs first will always stand out to me. Their classes are the ones I won't forget. I believe Nel Noddings would consider teachers like these to be the "one-caring."

     According to Noddings, "the one-caring is engrossed in the cared-for and undergoes a motivational displacement toward the projects of the cared-for." To me, motivational displacement means that the one-caring focuses and acts on the needs of the one cared-for. It's a way of taking on a students point of view, or putting your student first. This may seem to be important for higher education, but I believe it is also extremely important in early childhood education, as well.

     Noddings says teachers should be acting as a model for their students. At the same time, the one-caring should be working with the student. This really stuck out to me - working with the student, as opposed to simply lecturing to the student. In all our education classes we learn that it's important to actually engage our students for them to truly learn. We learn to take a hands-on approach to education. I believe that's what Noddings sees as the one-caring as teacher. She describes the student as becoming an apprentice to the teacher, and eventually the student will take on more and more tasks. The reward for the teacher is a students response. This responsiveness creates a two-way communication between the teacher and the student, or between the one-caring and the one cared-for.

     As early childhood teachers, we are going to have a huge responsibility to act as the one-caring. We never know what kind of background our students are coming from. They may have a very difficult family life, but they come to us for 7 hours a day. That's 7 hours to make a difference and influence a student. To act as the one-caring, Noddings believes we need to not only show concern and interest in our students, but also understanding. If we allow students to contribute to class and their learning, we will probably gain much more respect and much more responsiveness from them.