Teaching by example influences the development of moral and ethical reasoning since one can emulate the good morals from just making an observation.
One of the things that keep running through my mind as I read the article is the phrase, “children have never been quick to respond to what you are telling them, but they have never failed to imitate their elders.” People are always ready to learn and be influenced by what they see rather than what you would tell them to do. Here comes the significance of teaching by example that makes it easy for every person to learn, understand and practice a given concept. One of the ways one can teach by example is providing a supporting environment that promotes the learning process. This is by creating good relationships with the person that needs to learn through a series of motivations and seeking an understanding of how they need to be taught. Such an environment creates an enthusiastic environment, and each person looks forward towards the learning process rather than looking at it as a challenge. Secondly, a demonstration is vital; it is easy for me to learn from what I see rather than bringing in some theoretical concepts. This reminds me of how hard I found riding a bike when being young as my elder brother gave me a description of how I should do it. However, it became easy the first day he took me to the field and demonstrated how I should do it. The final approach I took from this article is being a role model. As much as a parent needs to see her daughter perform in college, it would be much influential if the parent showed the daughter how he performed in college and the daughter will look forwards towards having similar grades. It brings in a feeling that if mum did it, so will I and one feels more encouraged and determined to score better grades (McEwan, 2011).
Teaching by example influences the development of moral and ethical reasoning since one can emulate the good morals from just making an observation. Besides, in the vast world where people come from different cultures, one can learn more about different cultural settings and practice the right morals enhances your ability to work in a diverse and multicultural environment. Besides, it improves your way of reasoning, and one can consider different aspects before making the decisions, this based on the experience one has had with people and how frequent you have seen a specific approach give the best results as compared to others in other people’s lives.
Finally, concerning the statement, “Rousseau categorically denies the educational power of example.” I agree with Rousseau who denies the aspect of educational power. Someone who taught by example was more influential than those that were delivered to me through an education program that just gave me the ability to fit in a particular environment but did not empower me entirely drove most of the things I have learned. What is the need of me taking an internship after I have gone through a four academic year program? It because having someone who teaches by example id more influential as compared to practicing the skills that were delivered to me in a lecture hall.
References
McEwan, H. (2011). A Portrait of the Teacher as Friend and Artist: The example of Jean‐Jacques Rousseau. . Educational philosophy and theory, 43(5), 508-520.