I had a very interesting discussion recently about the role of the teacher in learning. One question that arose: What does it mean to care for / care about your students? Does caring mean being “soft” on your students? Does appearing to be caring lessen the students’ regard for the teacher?

I reflected a bit on my own sense of “caring.” For me, part of caring for students means that I respect what they have to say, and I encourage them to make the effort to express themselves in ways that others can understand their ideas. I totally disagree that a caring teacher encourages students to be lazy and neglect their work. In may ways, I see caring about students to mean the opposite of having an “anything goes” attitude.

I think caring means that you respect your students, are confident in their ability, and care about what they are learning. As I caring teacher I urge students to put in their best effort to learn the material and produce work they are proud of.

It seems ironic to me that some people equate “caring” with “being soft”. Doesn’t being soft mean you don’t care? That anything goes? That you don’t care if students do quality work or not? I think being soft is the opposite of caring. It is a mark of disrespect, not an indicator of regard and love.