The Meanings Of Praise And Criticism

Starting from specific pedagogical situations, this thesis describes and analyzes the phenomena of praise and criticism that children experience in their daily life, which reveals the meaning of praise and the criticism for their being and growing up from the perspective and approach of phenomenology, and further reflects on the pedagogical significance of these phenomena.Firstly, the thesis displays the phenomena of the praise and the criticism in everyday life. Beginning with the familiar situations and scenes, the thesis leads to the topics of the praise and the criticism, and then shifts to habit and study, two domains where praise and criticism exist, and the topics relating to study----assignments and exams. What these situations manifest is that praise and criticism are the most common phenomena in the becoming of the children and have bearing on their growth.Then the thesis describes and analyzes the meaning of the praise. Every child desires to be praised, which is connected with children's experiences of existence such as being seen, being recognized, being accounted for somebody and being cared for. At the same time, praise is closely related to with their self-fulfillment. Praise helps to open children's heart so that they could be affected to accept pedagogical influence. It also enables them to experience their abilities and find positive and talented selves so that they have the chance to know and fulfill themselves. In the research it is found that children could also transcend themselves in praise and in fact they could only do so by experiencing praise. Based on the description and analysis of their experiencing praise, the thesis further reflects the pedagogical essences of praise and takes the praise as a kind of gift of giving and a kind of direction, which are based on the understanding of children, that is an attitude of appreciation.After that the thesis describes and analyzes the children'experience of criticism, displaying its meaning in their growth. Children are afraid of criticism, which is the basic form of growing up and experiencing others and their ego. The experience of criticism is complicated in terms of its impact on children's growth. This thesis displays all kinds of experiences, such as knowing, feeling, behaving and willing and their effects on children. It also inquires the etymon of'piping (criticism)'and the context of this kind of practice to explore the rationality of criticism that lies in the authoritative and pedagogical relation between children and adults and the pedagogical awareness underpinning it. The thesis also proposes a possible way about how criticism could be pedagogically tactful.Finally, the thesis discusses about the relationship between the praise and the criticism. Both of them are pedagogic phenomena, which are the specific rather than abstract forms of pedagogy. However, the praise and the criticism are different forms of pedagogy, which are the alternative pedagogic practice selected by the educators and based on their understanding of children. Therefore, the praise and the criticism both are pedagogic forms, but different approaches to pedagogy. The praise and the criticism, both as pedagogy and approaches, could not be separated, and they exist at the same time forging the horizon for each other: one is the background and the other is the foreground.