Tact in Teaching

I am really, really sorry this is so late!




"In this sense the focus of teachers tends to be on what we here call pedagogical practical knowing and sensitivities--the complexity of relational, personal, moral, emotional, aspects of teachers’ everyday acting with children or young people they teach (van Manen et. al., 2007)."


The interests and concerns of a teacher are distinct from the traditional expectations of public schooling. Teachers' aim in general is not to simply transfer skills to a student but to allow for personal growth from the exposure to the knowledge and expertise of the teacher. A huge part of this repertoire of experiences is not specific to any particular subject matter but with social and emotional learning. One of the largest tasks of a teacher is to know how to be effectively considerate and accommodating to the complexity and uniqueness of each student in every class. The unique experience of having extremely frequent exposure to personal interactions brings about more time to reflect on how to act in a way that is of the best interest of every relevant person. This means that if teachers seriously reflect on their personal interactions they will be able to carry themselves with more thoughtful tact, something that will also be translated to the students among the subject specific experiences that instructors create.


"Does the concept of teaching as reflective decision making aim at a plausible and attainable reality?"

I think setting clear ideals for professionals in the public sphere makes it easier for governments to provide better services to it's citizens. The standard of teaching being reflective decision making is a very modern conceptualization of the role of an educator and it is mainly a result of putting a larger focus on a more pedagogical framework of teaching. I think that although it may be difficult for many teachers, especially considering the impracticalities that exist in the current classroom, the real question ought to be what the consequences of setting such a standard for the teaching profession is. This new ideal, where teachers need to exercise reflection, is the first step in ensuring a more inclusive environment for students and meaningfully acting toward that mandate. The ways in which one becomes a reflective teacher are unique to each individual and the process in each case might be more or less successful due to a huge number of factors but alternatively there would be less focus on this important phenomena that  has the consequence of providing better education for students.


"We might even say that the practical knowledge of teaching resides in the things that surround us: the physical dimensions of the classroom that I recognize as my room to which my body is adapted."

One of the elements of practical knowledge that teachers learn through instructing is the ability to use the classroom efficiently as a learning space. In order to be able to achieve this level of functionality, which comes in a huge variety of shapes and forms, the teacher must first know how to control their classroom. This is something that really only comes with time and experience. The ability to come into a classroom and act in a way that makes it such that the atmosphere naturally brings about participation and excitement is not something that can simply be learned from a text book. It is an ability that comes after reflecting and taking note on what works and doesn't work for students. The practical knowledge obtained through teaching isn't content specific, it has to do with a way of being that comes after reflecting on how to make all people feel welcome.