Gentle Teaching is not...
Some people have misperceptions about what Gentle Teaching is. It is not the traditional behavioral approach used in many industrialized countries. It does not wait for vulnerable children or adults to do something "good" and reward them. It recognizes human suffering, aloneness,
choiceless-ness, and oppression. It asks caregivers to give marginalized people unconditional love.
It is not...
• A behavioral or behavior modification approach that uses reward and punishment
to change behaviors rather it is based on unconditional love,
• A "whatever works" approach rather one that looks at broadening and deepening
a sense of companionship and community as a life-project,
• A fast and easy approach toward helping others, but one that calls on deep
commitment and dedication on the part of caregivers,
• Just a way to look at changing someone else’s reality, but first asking us to
look at our own reality and make it warmer and more loving,
• Simply a technique but also a psychology of human interdependence
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