Last week I made mention of the wonderful educator Roslyn Arnold and her book Empathic Intelligence: Teaching, Learning, Relating. This week I’d like to draw attention to more of Arnold’s views on the ‘person-centred nature’ of effective teaching and learning, reiterating her assertion that ‘caring is the bedrock of all successful education.’

Arnold states that education for the best and fullest human consciousness requires that we understand and respect the inner worlds of individuals, in which thought and feeling are complementary processes. She suggests that it’s equally important to understand how individuals interact with others, and how they derive significance from such interactions. The rich world of interpersonal life between people and the equally rich world enjoyed by those of a reflective nature, are the foundations for deep and meaningful learning.

Learning is an interactive experience best achieved in a climate of relatedness, care and mutual respect. I am seeing more and more – particularly in our current educational context – that students’ motivations and feelings about learning are just as important as the content of their learning. In teaching – as in parenting – sensitivity, attunement to others, acute observational skills and honest self-scrutiny and self-understanding are necessary if the young people in our care are to flourish. I can vividly remember the teachers who made my own school life meaningful and positive. They were passionate about their students, passionate about their subject, and passionate about teaching and learning. In reflecting on this, I recall the words of the American educator Parker Palmer who said, ‘Good teachers weave a life-giving web between themselves, their subject and their students, helping their students learn how to weave a world for themselves.’

Clare Murphy

English Coordinator and Literacy Instructional Coach