The Good Life of Teaching : An Ethics of Professional Practice

"The Good Life of Teaching extends the recent revival of virtue ethics to professional ethics and the philosophy of teaching. It connects long-standing philosophical questions about work and human growth to questions about teacher motivation, identity, and development. Makes a significant contribution to the philosophy of teaching and also offers new insights into virtue theory and professional ethics. Offers fresh and detailed readings of major figures in ethics, including Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, and Bernard Williams and the practical philosophies of Hannah Arendt, John Dewey and Hans-Georg Gadamer. Provides illustrations to assist the reader in visualizing major points, and integrates sources such as film, literature, and teaching memoirs to exemplify arguments in an engaging and accessible way. Presents a compelling vision of teaching as a reflective practice showing how this requires us to prepare teachers differently "-- Provided by publisher The Good Life of Teaching: An Ethics of Professional Practice......Page 5 Contents......Page 7 Foreword by Richard Smith......Page 9 Acknowledgements......Page 11 Saints and scoundrels......Page 13 A brief for teacherly self-cultivation......Page 14 From the terrain of teaching to the definition of professional ethics......Page 21 Outline of the argument......Page 22 Part I: The Virtues of Vocation: From Moral professionalism to Practical Ethics......Page 31 1: Work and Flourishing: Williams' Critique of Morality and its Implications for Professional Ethics......Page 33 Retrieving Socrates' question......Page 34 Modern moral myopia......Page 37 What do moral agents want?......Page 43 From moral professionalism to professional ethics......Page 47 2: Worlds of Practice: MacIntyre's Challenge to Applied Ethics......Page 59 The architecture of MacIntyre's moral theory......Page 60 A closer look at internal goods......Page 67 The practicality of ethical reflection......Page 73 What counts as a practice: The proof, the pudding, and the recipe......Page 75 Boundary conditions: Practitioners, managers, interpreters, and fans......Page 81 3: Labour, Work, and Action: Arendt's Phenomenology of Practical Life......Page 97 Arendt's singular project......Page 99 Defining the deed......Page 104 Hierarchy and interdependence in the vita activa......Page 111 Praxis in the professions......Page 113 4: A Question of Experience: Dewey and Gadamer on Practical Wisdom......Page 123 The constant gardener......Page 125 The existential and aesthetic dimensions of vocation......Page 131 Our dominant vocation......Page 137 Practical wisdom and the circle of experience......Page 142 The open question......Page 146 Part II: A Virtue Ethics for Teachers: Problems and prospects......Page 155 A blind spot in the educational imagination......Page 157 The hunger artist......Page 166 The very idea of a helping profession......Page 173 This ripeness of self......Page 182 6: Working Conditions: The Practice of Teaching and the Institution of School......Page 189 A prima facie case for teaching as a practice......Page 190 MacIntyre's objection......Page 202 Schools as surroundings......Page 210 7: The Classroom Drama: Teaching as Endless Rehearsal and Cultural Elaboration......Page 217 Education as the drama of cultural renewal......Page 220 A false lead......Page 226 Teaching as labour, work, and action......Page 229 Education, shelter, and mediation......Page 235 Teaching as endless rehearsal......Page 239 Teaching as cultural elaboration......Page 245 Teaching as vocational environment......Page 253 Batch processing, kitsch culture, and other obstacles to teacher vocation......Page 260 The syntax of educational claims......Page 266 The shape of humanistic conversation......Page 270 Horizons of educational inquiry......Page 278 Teacher education for practical wisdom......Page 285 References......Page 295 Index......Page 317 Machine generated contents note: Preface (Richard Smith) Acknowledgements Introduction : Why We Need a Virtue Ethics of Teaching. Saints and scoundrels ; A brief for teacherly self-cultivation ; From the terrain of teaching to the definition of professional ethics ; Outline of the argument PART I. The Virtues of Vocation : From Moral Professionalism to Practical Ethics Chapter 1. Work and Flourishing : Williams' Critique of Morality and its Implications for Professional Ethics. Retrieving Socrates' question ; Modern moral myopia ; What do moral agents want? ; From moral professionalism to professional ethics Chapter 2. Worlds of Practice : MacIntyre's Challenge to Applied Ethics. The architecture of MacIntyre's moral theory ; A closer look at internal goods ; The practicality of ethical reflection ; What counts as a practice : The proof, the pudding, and the recipe ; Boundary conditions : Practitioners, managers, interpreters, and fans Chapter 3. Labour, Work, and Action : Arendt's Phenomenology of Practical Life. Arendt's Singular Project ; Defining the Deed ; Hierarchy and interdependence in the vita activa ; Praxis in the professions Chapter 4. A Question of Experience : Dewey and Gadamer on Practical Wisdom. The constant gardener ; The existential and aesthetic dimensions of vocation ; Our dominant vocation ; Practical wisdom and the circle of experience ; The open question PART II. A Virtue Ethics for Teachers : Problems and Prospects Chapter 5. The Hunger Artist: Pedagogy and the Paradox of Self-Interest. A blind spot in the educational imagination ; The hunger artist ; The very idea of a helping profession ; This ripeness of self Chapter 6. Working Conditions : The Practice of Teaching and the Institution of School. A prima facie case for teaching as a practice ; MacIntyre's Objection ; Schools as surroundings Chapter 7. The Classroom Drama : Teaching as Endless Rehearsal and Cultural Elaboration. Education as the drama of cultural renewal ; A false lead ; Teaching as labour, work, and action ; Education, shelter, and mediation ; Teaching as endless rehearsal ; Teaching as cultural elaboration Chapter 8. Teaching as Experience : Toward a Hermeneutics of Teaching and Teacher Education. Teaching as vocational environment ; Batch processing, kitsch culture, and other obstacles to teacher vocation ; The syntax of educational claims ; The shape of humanistic conversation ; Horizons of educational inquiry ; Teacher education for practical wisdom Index. The Good Life of Teachingextends the recent revival of virtue ethics to professional ethics and the philosophy of teaching. It connects long-standing philosophical questions about work and human growth to questions about teacher motivation, identity, and development. Makes a significant contribution to the philosophy of teaching and also offers new insights into virtue theory and professional ethicsOffers fresh and detailed readings of major figures in ethics, including Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, and Bernard Williams and the practical philosophies of Hannah Arendt, John Dewey and Hans-Georg GadamerProvides illustrations to assist the reader in visualizing major points, and integrates sources such as film, literature, and teaching memoirs to exemplify arguments in an engaging and accessible wayPresents a compelling vision of teaching as a reflective practice showing how this requires us to prepare teachers differently Chris Higginsis Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Policy, Organizationand Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is alsoAssociate Editor and Review Editor of Educational Theory. A philosopher of education, his work draws on virtue ethics, hermeneutics, and psychoanalysis. His scholarly interests include professional ethics and teacher identity, dialogue and the teacher-student relationship, liberal learning and the humanistic imagination, professional education and the philosophy of work

The Good Life of Teaching extends the recent revival of virtue ethics to professional ethics and the philosophy of teaching. It connects long-standing philosophical questions about work and human growth to questions about teacher motivation, identity, and development.

• Makes a significant contribution to the philosophy of teaching and also offers new insights into virtue theory and professional ethics
• Offers fresh and detailed readings of major figures in ethics, including Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, and Bernard Williams and the practical philosophies of Hannah Arendt, John Dewey and Hans-Georg Gadamer
• Provides illustrations to assist the reader in visualizing major points, and integrates sources such as film, literature, and teaching memoirs to exemplify arguments in an engaging and accessible way
• Presents a compelling vision of teaching as a reflective practice showing how this requires us to prepare teachers differently

"The Good Life of Teaching extends the recent revival of virtue ethics to professional ethics and the philosophy of teaching. It connects long-standing philosophical questions about work and human growth to questions about teacher motivation, identity, and development. Makes a significant contribution to the philosophy of teaching and also offers new insights into virtue theory and professional ethics. Offers fresh and detailed readings of major figures in ethics, including Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, and Bernard Williams and the practical philosophies of Hannah Arendt, John Dewey and Hans-Georg Gadamer. Provides illustrations to assist the reader in visualizing major points, and integrates sources such as film, literature, and teaching memoirs to exemplify arguments in an engaging and accessible way. Presents a compelling vision of teaching as a reflective practice showing how this requires us to prepare teachers differently "--Résumé de l'éditeur