Assignment:
Assumed needs and expressed needs are two elements of Nel Noddings' philosophy of "ethics of cares." Noddings writes that the ethics of caring requires both listening and thinking. Describe how you strike a balance between the assumed and expressed needs of your students.
Your paper must also bring into conversation bell hooks' conception of "education for critical consciousness." First, what does critical consciousness mean to you? Second, describe how you raise your students' level of critical consciousness about social oppression or social
problems.
What is the relationship between postmodern philosophy and Noddings' ethics of care and hooks' feminist pedagogy, you ask?
Recall that postmodern education disputes objectivity, truth with a capital T, and binarism. In other words, teaching and learning must also account for the cultural knowledge and "lived" experiences of learners.