A Case for Kindness: A New Look at the Teaching Ethic

by Steve Broidy

Overview

“Simple acts of kindness” are not so simple. Broidy argues both for the complexity of kindness in action, and for the value of an approach to teachers’ relationship with their students and other clients that is rooted in a “sensibility of kindness.” Broidy’s case for kindness begins by disentangling the concept of kindness from its many near relations. He traces the role of kindness and related concepts in both American educational history and in modern organizations promoting their versions of kindness.

Broidy explores the ways we decide ethical questions, focusing on the complex of perceptions, emotions, dispositions, and priorities that form our ethical sensibilities. He argues that a sensibility oriented toward kindness is the best foundation for a teaching ethic; and shows how new and working teachers can develop and employ such a teaching ethic.

Finally, he connects a kindness-oriented teaching ethic to the societal need to maintain and develop a long-term democratic ideal.

Perfect for courses such as: Foundations, Philosophy of Education, Introduction to Education, Methods, Professional Ethics, Teacher Education

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781975502003
Publisher:	Myers Education Press
Publication date:	07/18/2019
Series:	Academy for Educational Studies , #3
Pages:	120
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dr. Broidy is an emeritus professor of education at both Missouri State University and
Wittenberg University. He lives with his wife Susan, a sculptor, on 3 ½ acres in Southwest Ohio. He is the author of Earth
Inside Them, a poetry chapbook; and editor/contributor of From the Tower: Poetry in Honor of Conrad
Balliet. Dr. Broidy has two children—one a chiropractor in Missouri and the other a wine importer/distributor in California.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1. Education, Ethics, and Kindness

Chapter 2. The Meaning of Kindness

Chapter 3. Sensibility and the Logic of Ethical Judgment

Chapter 4. Developing a Kindness-oriented Teaching Ethic

Chapter 5. Kindness and the Democratic Ideal

References

Biography

Editorial Reviews

"All educators are familiar with the power of kindness in the teaching-learning process. So much of our success depends on the quality of the student-teacher relationship. Classrooms and schools like personal relationships have marked boundaries and our ability to transcend those boundaries is greatly enhanced by kindness. This book helps makes the argument of why this is so and why our attention to kindness goes to the heart of moral education. Diverting our attention from this topic lessens what it means to be human and humane."

Paul Wangemann

"The right book at the right time. Broidy offers readers a scholarly examination of kindness, both sociologically and educationally. In our current era of increasing tribalism and unkindness – exhibited daily on the evening news, Broidy offers a path forward toward more healthy classrooms and a more deliberative society by mapping a direct link between kindness, immediacy and democracy."

Phil Kelly

"Steve Broidy’s A Case For Kindness is a convincing call for the development and cultivation of kindness in the classroom. He provides careful contextualization and clear definition of just what kindness is and how it should form a teaching ethic. All sorts of teachers can benefit from reading and considering Broidy’s much-needed and thoughtful book."

Christopher Beckham