Caring for K-12 in Fort Wayne - a UC2 panel discussion

Assuring the success of schools in our community involves a multifaceted approach: sufficient resources, innovative teaching techniques, teachers trained in their content areas, parental support, student engagement to name only a few. However, as Nel Noddings argued in her book The Challenge to Care in Schools (1992), “the first job of the schools is to care for our children. We should educate our children not only for competence but also for caring. Our aim should be to encourage the growth of competent, caring, loving and lovable people.” What does it mean to create a caring educational community for students, teachers, administrators, staff, parents and the community? What are the challenges? What can we gain by pairing care with learning? How can we ensure learning while also focusing on caring for the lives of individual students? Our panelists of current and former public school teachers and professors working on and researching teacher training will discuss these issues and will take your questions. Participants: Samantha McGlennen, Summit Middle School Math Teacher, IPFW alumna Jamie Drake, Continuing Lecturer of Spanish Dr. Matthew Perkins, Assistant Professor of Science Education Dr. Pam Reese, Assistant Professor of Communication Science and Disorders Dr. Jens Clegg, Associate Professor of Spanish Dr. Isabel Nuñez, Professor and Chair of Educational Studies