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Becoming Teacher/Tree and Bringing the Natural World to Students: An Educational Examination of the Influence of the Other‐than‐Human World and the Great Actor on Martin Buber's Concept of the I/Thou
Author(s) -
Blenkinsop Sean,
Scott Charles
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
educational theory
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1741-5446
pISSN - 0013-2004
DOI - 10.1111/edth.12258
Subject(s) - thou , character (mathematics) , sociology , natural (archaeology) , reflexive pronoun , epistemology , psychology , aesthetics , social psychology , history , philosophy , linguistics , geometry , mathematics , archaeology
This essay is written in two sections. The first, following a short introduction, is made up of three scenarios drawn from the life and work of Martin Buber. As well as demonstrating his obvious interest in human relationships with the other‐than‐human, each scenario describes an encounter between either Buber himself or a stand‐in character and a member of the other‐than‐human world. Together, these scenes not only suggest that I/Thou encounters are possible with the other‐than‐human, and that they are important for the development of the human I , but also outline characteristics that make such encounters possible. The second section focuses on Buber's description of the “great actor” in order to offer a way teachers might engage their own students with the other‐than‐human world. Just as the actor embodies both the character and his or her own person in a dramatic role, so the teacher might embody the I/Thou relationship with the natural world, becoming Teacher/Tree , and exemplifying that relationship with the students.