Discusses whole-language classrooms as ones that create and nurture a morality of caring. Lists ways in which teachers can facilitate growth of the ethic of caring in the classroom-- helping children to become "other centered"--whereby a community of responsible, concerned, and empathetic children emerges, and the classroom models the…

The key to developmentally appropriate practices is to let a child construct his or her own knowledge through interactions with the social and physical environment. Because the child is viewed as intrinsically motivated and self-directed, effective teaching capitalizes on the child's motivation to explore, experiment, and to make sense of his or…