Lessons From the Pandemic: An Analysis of U.S. Public School Teachers' Engagement in "Complete Care"

• In Event: Teachers' Lives and Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This paper analyzes the caring experiences of six (6) U.S. public school teachers during the pandemic so as to elucidate the sources of constraints and supports encountered by teachers in their engagement in complete care for students. “Complete care,” a concept from care ethics, occurs when a cared-for’s needs are successfully met by others in caring relationship(s), contributing to his flourishing. While the six teachers largely agree that a teacher’s caring labor has been rendered more pressing and trying by the pandemic, some recount teaching conditions–unexpectedly engendered by the pandemic–that have enabled them to care better for students. Teaching conditions discussed are: (i) conducive class sizes; (ii) shared space for spontaneous teacher-student encounters; and (iii) increased pedagogical autonomy.

Author

• Yibing Quek, Teachers College, Columbia University