THE TEACHER AS A SOCIAL HEALER: A DIDACTIC-EDUCATIONAL NEED FOR THE XXI CENTURY

Abstract

In the present article the figure of the teacher is understood as a “social healer” in order to pay attention to some of the possibilities opened to the professional who takes action in a socially interactive sphere and with a clear social impact. Starting from our current situation with a dystopic slant (pressure on the teaching staff, high number of students in class, feelings of burnt-out, anguish and anxiety) the article pays attention to how the teacher can and must be considered a healing and preventive element for the students, something which, as we shall see, could be manifested not only in the ontologic and epistemic realms but also in those which are merely didactic and methodological. Thus, some guidelines and patterns of behavior for the teacher will be emphasized. It is also suggested that the teacher needs to help the students to overcome their biased conceptions of failure as something strictly negative, he or she must develop a “pedagogical touch” and, above all, must conform a “didactic analogic-prudential care” which will hold up the educative actions undertook in the class when relating to the students. With all this, some of the educative clues will be then thought over and analysed in order to reach a better understanding of the teaching act itself.