Pedagogy of Pride - Abstract
Cathy Benedict, Ed.D
[The Christian morality hypothesis] prevented man from despising himself as man, from taking against life, from despairing of knowing: it was a means of preservation—in sum: morality was the great antidote against practical and theoretical nihilism.
(Nietzsche, 2006, p. 385)
For many years I found myself more than willing to respond to the plea, appeal and even supplication, “Teacher, are you proud of me?” Eventually I recognized my participation in sustaining and maintaining something much more troubling than the external construction of ‘learner’ and to acknowledge how effective this exchange was at establishing my authority and control in the classroom. However, no longer responding to the question left a pedagogical space begging to be filled. Thus, in order to reposition pride within an internal location I took to facilitating discussion as to why both their need and my response were problematic. Consequently I settled on ‘telling’ students they should be proud of and find pride in their work. This seemed to work, but worked at what plagues me and has simply opened another problematic pedagogical space.
Psychologists suggest that rigid expectations of fulfilling goals can further feelings of inadequacy. I would further this by suggesting that when goals are set from without (even ostensibly as student centered) they are too often goals dictated by external needs rather than the development of self. There is a difference between engaging in and with work that develops self and engaging in work whose parameters have been defined by the logic of hyper-consumerism and international competition (an extended version of Bonhoeffer’s “cheap grace”). Consequently, I seek to challenge ontological development connected to this logic rather than ontological development as a form of grace; grace not necessarily linked to a theological perspective, but one grounded in free will and the development of self.
To trouble the concept of pride is to recognize the human desire and longing to be seen and heard; to know and be known. In this presentation I desire to move toward a more comprehensive understanding of a seemingly innocuous phrase that has embedded itself in our collective psyche. Using literature spanning the work of 5th century monks to feminist theorists I seek to interrogate what many consider the human condition—low self-esteem and/or over-valued perspective.
Cathy Benedict, Ed.D
[The Christian morality hypothesis] prevented man from despising himself as man, from taking against life, from despairing of knowing: it was a means of preservation—in sum: morality was the great antidote against practical and theoretical nihilism.
(Nietzsche, 2006, p. 385)
For many years I found myself more than willing to respond to the plea, appeal and even supplication, “Teacher, are you proud of me?” Eventually I recognized my participation in sustaining and maintaining something much more troubling than the external construction of ‘learner’ and to acknowledge how effective this exchange was at establishing my authority and control in the classroom. However, no longer responding to the question left a pedagogical space begging to be filled. Thus, in order to reposition pride within an internal location I took to facilitating discussion as to why both their need and my response were problematic. Consequently I settled on ‘telling’ students they should be proud of and find pride in their work. This seemed to work, but worked at what plagues me and has simply opened another problematic pedagogical space.
Psychologists suggest that rigid expectations of fulfilling goals can further feelings of inadequacy. I would further this by suggesting that when goals are set from without (even ostensibly as student centered) they are too often goals dictated by external needs rather than the development of self. There is a difference between engaging in and with work that develops self and engaging in work whose parameters have been defined by the logic of hyper-consumerism and international competition (an extended version of Bonhoeffer’s “cheap grace”). Consequently, I seek to challenge ontological development connected to this logic rather than ontological development as a form of grace; grace not necessarily linked to a theological perspective, but one grounded in free will and the development of self.
To trouble the concept of pride is to recognize the human desire and longing to be seen and heard; to know and be known. In this presentation I desire to move toward a more comprehensive understanding of a seemingly innocuous phrase that has embedded itself in our collective psyche. Using literature spanning the work of 5th century monks to feminist theorists I seek to interrogate what many consider the human condition—low self-esteem and/or over-valued perspective.
