What is good teaching? A question that is often asked in the field of education. Teachers are mandated to provide learners with learning materials and equip them with skills and knowledge that will later be useful in their lives. Good teachers should produce equipped learners ready to take up tasks in the future to better their lives. There are so many philosophical perspectives surrounding methods and practices of teaching. Nurturing perspective is one of them, and despite its fruitfulness, it has its disadvantages.
I believe nurturing perspective is the best way to disseminate knowledge and skills to learners. My argument is based on the fact that; this method motivates a learner to adopt a persistent culture. With persistence and hard work, learners are likely to grasp whatever is being taught, which will be hard for them to forget. Nurturing instills a persistence culture and helps remove the fear of failure (Ipek et al., 2018). Learners work hard to avoid failing their exams at the end of learning programs. Under such pressure, they are likely to cram instead of learning. As a result, they forget what they learn and may fail despite their efforts to avoid failure. With nurturing, learners have support from teachers and peers, and their achievement is a result of their efforts and not the kindness of the instructor.
Nurturing perspective requires the teacher to create a safe environment for the learner. As a result, the learner will trust the teacher, feel safe and cared for, and be challenged to work smarter in class. The strategies in this perspective include emotional support and responding to the intellectual needs of the learner (Laundon et al., 2020). The teacher provides clear goals and supports the learner in achieving the goals. An example of nurturing a learner is instead of constantly beating them up, training them on what they should have done, and talking to them is the correct thing to do. Furthermore, creating a good rapport with the students and constantly checking up on them makes them feel safe and trust the instructor.
Despite its many advantages, there are things to be considered from nurturing perspective. Firstly, it is hard to evaluate students following institutional expectations (Laundon et al., 2020). An institution has ways to achieve success, and nurturing students may not be among them. Teachers who embody this perspective will likely give out too much of themselves. As a result, they get worn out and may give up, neglecting essential work. Furthermore, such teachers find themselves constantly defending what they believe in. Criticisms from all corners may get to them, and their mental health might deteriorate.
Noticeably, the philosophy of learning and practice embraces many other learning theories. The transmission perspective, a common orientation in higher education, involves transmitting knowledge from teachers to learners. It includes giving adjusted and organized lectures, answering questions, and setting high educational standards. Another unique perspective, totally different from what I stand for, is the social reform perspective. A method where instructors believe their ideals are necessary, appropriate, and ultimate for a better society. Social reform teachers work hard to promote the learner’s dignity and ask questions about community diversity.
References
Ipek, I., & Ziatdinov, R. (2018). New approaches and trends in the philosophy of educational technology for learning and teaching environments. arXiv preprint arXiv:1808.06063.
Laundon, M., Cathcart, A., & Greer, D. A. (2020). Teaching philosophy statements. Journal of Management Education, 44(5), 577-587.
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