How Will an Awareness of Psychoanalytic Theory Impact on Your Work in a Classroom Setting?

Psychoanalysis presumes that a good understanding of development requires analyzing the symbolic meanings of behavior and the deep inner workings of the mind. It places a huge emphasis on the unconscious and how the unconscious is the precursor to human development.

The level of awareness that I possess of psychoanalytic theory would impact my performance in the classroom only if I act on my understanding in a proactive manner. I believe it was Socrates who said that a teacher is one who not only has an understanding of subject, but is one who has the ability to teach it. And an elementary school teacher has a special responsibility in not only the intellectual, but the social development of his student. Using psychoanalysis is beneficial in seeing symbolic signs in a student's actions or in his work. For instance, when a child is caught in a situation where he is at some fault, a child will sometimes succumb to lying and that should be seen as a defense mechanism where the child is trying to resolve his fear of being punished. As a teacher, I will try to explain that that there is nothing to fear and that the truth is always the best option.

To positively manipulate a certain situation or setting would also be one of my priorities as a teacher. There are, as Erikson put it, crises in life that children and even adults have to go through. In those situations, a teacher always has to remain calm and sensitive to the respective situation. If an argument ever happened to occur, I would try to let whoever is fighting resolve the conflict in a reasonable manner. I have to always remember that the rest of the class is watching so every crisis such as this one is a learning experience to not only the respective students, but also to the entire class.

Having the knowledge that psychoanalysis places a great emphasis on one's early experiences, I will strive to be as patient, caring, understanding, and firm. I will allow each student to explore each intellectual avenue possible and encourage them that there is no such thing as failure in the classroom; that every experience, be it intellectual or social, is a learning experience. I believe that students are prone to develop a sense of inferiority and so I must adapt to banish such notions from their thoughts.

One risk of using psychoanalysis in the classroom is a misinterpretation on my part. That is why either I'd have to be more learned

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