Teaching as a Fear Vaccine: Response-ability in Pandemics
Date
2020-10-26
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Abstract
The author offers both theoretical and practical ideas for those on the front-lines of Education today—and, generally teaching and learning in crisis. At the age of 68, he brings a maturity to the discussions of what is happening in school systems. He taught in public schools in his youth and has three degrees in the field of Education. He is currently an education consultant in private practice, and long-time Founder-Director of the In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute. He offers 30+ years of specialized study on fear management/education (FME) and 15 additional years teaching children and mostly parents and adults on the topic of how to best be response-able (e.g., resilient, effective, trauma-informed) for front-line school teachers who are currently trying to negotiate the ‘crazy’ atmosphere of teaching in the situation of a severe pandemic (e.g., COVID-19). He suggests teaching itself has to undergo a transformation in its ‘identity’ and structures, of which he focuses on the transformation by which teachers see themselves, and actualize, they are a fear vaccine of another kind. Children and youth really need that kind of care today. Teachers need support to be so response-able under these deep-stressor conditions, where fear itself can too easily take-off and become the ruling organizational principle. His approach brings a rejuvenating fearlessness paradigm to our times and ways of teaching.
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text as original form
Keywords
pandemic, COVID-19, schooling, education, fear education, fear management education, Fearlessness Paradigm, Fear Paradigm, teacher formation
Citation
Fisher, R. M. (2020). Teaching as a Fear Vaccine: Response-ability in Pandemics. In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, Calgary, AB. Technical paper, no. 116. pp. 1-13.