Max Van Manen on 'Tact in Teaching': Entrance Slip

When one generally thinks of the the term pedagogy, it is defined in a technical sense, of how to effectively deliver content. This delivery seems hardly ever considered in the light of really HOW to do so while maintaining emotional boundaries with yourself and your clients, the students and parents. This article was very interesting in highlighting the difficulties with being universally tactful. "But a problem with giving recognition is that it may lead to feelings of inequality." As an encouraging, positive person in general, I do find myself giving compliments, easily and without reservation generally. The examples and especially story from one complimented student did give me pause however - it honestly had never occurred to me that praise can be so personal when in a public forum. Being singled out, despite all good intentions, especially being a young adult who is still developing their self confidence and identity, could be rather detrimental for the student, therefore being considered untactful. It could be perceived as favoritism by other students, teachers, and parents as well. Furthermore, other high achieving students that are not publicly praised could take offense or be demoralized by the lack of compliments on their achievements. A teacher's practical wisdom may be influenced by good or bad situations resulting from giving compliments. The tact of being an universally encouraging teacher for myself seems to potentially lie in reining public compliments back or reserving them for very extremely positive occasions while maintaining a positive demeanor towards all students in each class. "The perceptiveness needed, the understanding or insight required, the feeling for the right action are not necessarily separate stages in a sequential process." Being able to think on one's feet and maintain healthy boundaries with so many people simultaneously is a daunting task. Unfortunately, I personally do not see any way around it as a teacher aside from what the article alludes to of being conscious of the potential consequences of your actions or inaction in the social situation of a classroom. I believe self reflection and thoughtfulness go a long way in this. Being practiced outside of the classroom in sensing personal space boundaries and the moods of people you are interacting with seems a huge benefit to this point. Being socially awkward in having ambiguity about your own boundaries and mood would be quite detrimental in any interaction and especially detrimental in perceiving another's in order to chose a 'right action' on the fly. Practicing socializing with people and asking for feedback in interactions with friends and mentors could be useful in defining your own boundaries etc. in order to be able to perceive those of other people and be able to react appropriately. "If teachers were to try to be constantly critically aware of what they were doing and why they were doing those things, they would inevitably become artificial and flounder." It is easy to make tact as a teacher about self-reflection and moderating your actions as a teacher but this quote brings up a good point. At some point, it will become too much to break it down into steps or justify your reasoning for your executed actions. Good or bad, your own personal values and natural personality will play a large role in your interactions with people and at some point, you are going to unconsciously slide back into your natural state of perceptiveness because one simply cannot, be on, all of the time. I think it is to the benefit of a teacher to play on their natural strengths while consciously reinforcing their own desired insight and reaction skills. It occurs to me that children and their parents alike will be able to sense if you are being artificial. This might be worse than a tactfulness transgression. Overall, this article has made me reflect on my own approaches in communicating with people. Developing tact seems such an elusive vague task but I believe this reflection and conscious incorporation of tactful methods will result in an overall improvement in my own tact as a teacher which ideally will one day become my standard. My students will benefit and perhaps even learn tact themselves from my example. Dealing with parents just seems straightforward in that you would always want to be tactful when discussing their child in any situation. A lack of tact in that case could create tension and conflict that may influence the student negatively. Tactfulness is an extremely valuable skill, especially in conflict resolution, and I believe with a bit of practice and awareness tact as a teacher can be an on going learning process.