Entrance Slip Oct 22: Practical knowing-in-action: Knack to the tact

Quote #1: "In colloquial language: the teacher teaches with the head and the heart and must feelingly know what is the appropriate thing to do in ever changing circumstances with children who are organized in groups but who are also unique as individuals" (p.6).

When I first read this,I was surprised. I have never once read that I need to "feelingly know" how to do something. I guess this is the essence of the tact of teaching, to have enough experience in the field to know the best way to deal with a situation.

Quote #2: "One university teacher confided that, at times, he
quite purposefully tries to reflect on what he should say or do while saying and
doing it. “But,” he said, “doing this quickly become highly frustrating. I feel that I
become artificial and, in fact, the reflectiveness with which I approach the
students, the class discussion, the presentation, or the class work that I do
becomes an obstacle for a smooth lesson. So instead of improving my teaching it
worsens... Sometimes the result is that I grow more self-conscious and I become
aware of the students looking at me and judging me. Then I experience a kind of split sense of self--a self as observed and objectified by others and a self trying
to deal with this situation" (p.11).

As I prepare to embrace my practicum, I must muster confidence in myself. With this being said, and the quote above, when I start out with my teaching practice, I plan to leave my reflections for moments of solitude. Self-reflection is critical for improvement, but I can't start in a place of leadership while questioning my every decision in the moment. Students could lose confidence in my words and authority. I believe with time and experience, I will ease into a position with the students and feel comfortable enough to take moments of contemporaneous reflection during important moments in the classroom. Having a close and understanding relationship with students would hopefully inspire patience in the class for the time of reflection.

Quote #3: "Gadamer refers to the work of a contemporary of Herbart,
the physiologist Helmholtz, to bring out two aspects of tact: tact as a form of
human interaction and tact as a human science facility which Helmholtz had
elaborated. In the first sense, tact is commonly understood as “a particular
sensitivity and sensitiveness to situations, and how to behave in them,” but for
which “we cannot find any knowledge from general principles”(p.15).

I found the concept of "tact" very interesting because I had never heard of it before. Although, it does remind me of a concept discussed in the movie "Hunt for the Wilder People". A hunter/farmer states that he uses the "knack" to find his way in the woods and survive its wilderness. The "knack" come from experience and intuition and a will to survive. It more ways, it is very similar to tact. The difference is tact is a form of human interaction. Tact is a sensitiveness to how your actions will affect everyone around you. As a teacher, students are consistently observing you so with time, a teacher will build their tact of teaching. They will encounter all sorts of unexpected scenarios and endure the outcomes good or bad. More than once, a teacher will experience the same situation and behave appropriately to reach the best outcome. Through experimenting with teaching techniques and using our hearts at the same time, we will train our responses and become better teachers.