International Webinar on the first anniversary of tribute day of Dear Nel Noddings — with Mr. Maneesh Kumar

My fondest memory of Nel occurred while hosting her for a two-day visit to Georgia College in 2008.  From the Atlanta airport to Milledgeville, her car conversation was so absorbing that I drove 30 miles out of the way.  And her main speech (based partly on her then new book on controversial issues in school and society) led some in the audience to appear aghast at her openness to agnosticism and atheism.  On the way back to Atlanta, I mentioned to Nel that many consider her the best educational philosopher since Dewey.  She smiled and did not disagree.  Her supporters (I am among them) might indeed be correct.  Nel, thanks for the peace and joy you planted in this precarious land called Earth. 

Nel served on my dissertation committee.  During one memorable committee meeting, I was thrashing about searching for a dissertation topic.  What would be my focus?  What would be my conclusion? Looking at me with her piercing blue eyes, Nel smiled and said: "If you know where you're going ahead of time, it's probably not worth taking the journey." I have shared her wise counsel many times with my own students... Nel loved orchids.  Every time I see an orchid, I think of Nel. 

I "blame" Nel for pulling me into the Exec Director position at PES and I will long praise her for her careful phenomenological analyses of caring and of evil (among other concepts).  I will continue to value her for her friendship and confidence in me.  Nel was first and last the best kind of philosophical mother to us all, intelligent and caring.

I had the good fortune to interact with Nel in a variety of settings. I found her to be a philosopher in the etymological sense of the word. Although exceedingly knowledgeable, she was, more importantly, wise. Rich in experience and discerning in judgement, she always offered good council. As one of the multitudes she influences both by personal example and philosophical acumen, I will miss her greatly.

I first met Nel when she came out to Calvin University for a talk and working session almost 25 years ago, where she graciously encouraged me in my fledgling work on Levinas. The next year, at PES in Chicago, I was nervously waiting in the hallway to give my first ever PES paper, when I heard “Clarence, what is your paper on—I’m trying to decide between your’s and one on Iris Young.” I turned to see it was Nel Noddings! She decided to come to my paper on Levinas, and asked a great question afterwards. At subsequent conferences she always made a point to ask how I was doing and what I was working on.  I so appreciated her encouragement when I was a young scholar. 

Nel arrived at Stanford while I was still a student there. I was slow to appreciate how much I could learn from her, and I didn’t think she was “radical” enough to suit my political outlook at the time. How wrong I was. She was a far more transformative thinker than I realized and I made the mistake, as many did, of confusing her kind and mild-spoken manner for the toughness and challenging substance of her ideas. She was tremendously generous with me, acknowledging me along with others in her first book, Caring. I can’t imagine what I could have said that merited that credit, but at the time it was one of the things that first made me believe that maybe I could contribute something to this philosophy of education thing after all, at a time when I was really in doubt about that. She lived her values and walked the talk; her devotion to her large and inclusive family was inspiring. There is no one in my professional life I admire more.

She was president of PES one of the years I was Executive Director. We had a great working relationship. She also kindly endorsed one of my books on the back cover. Her book Belief and unbelief was courageous given the times but of course she will be remembered more often for her work on caring.

I met Nel in the late '70s, sitting in the passenger front seat in Nel's car as she drove a carful of CAPErs from Palo Alto to LA for a CAPE meeting. We talked philosophy the whole way. I probably badgered her too much, especially because she was driving, but she was pure class the whole way: welcoming me to CAPE (my first meeting), taking me seriously though I was just starting out, and responding to my philosophical remarks with respect, wit and ease. She was sharp, full of grace, and a model of caring intellectual respect. That ride left a lasting impression on me, and left me with an enduring respect for her, as a philosopher and as a person.

When I was a graduate student, I had the good fortune to meet Nel at a Spencer Foundation convening. I remember Nel so fondly as someone who generously shared her time and wisdom with me (a student at another university who she really had little reason to invest time in) both at that meeting and well beyond. She absolutely changed my professional life and our field for the better.

I am at a loss of words with the news of the passing of Nel. Like many of us, she was a dear friend, inspiring scholar, and an adopted teacher/mentor to me.  I knew this day would come, but that does not make it any easier.  I send my love to Nel's family and will try to follow their request. I have already read her work, cited it in my own, and taught it in my classes. I will continue to talk with those I care about.  With care, Barb Thayer-Bacon

I teach on a BA in Education programme. I use Nel Noddings' writings on caring, happiness and well-being with my undergraduate students, at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, in England. Her material is accessible and thought-provoking - I don't think it will date. Thankyou!

I did not know Nel well, but she affected my work as a philosopher of education. I used her Philosophy of Education text in teaching a grad course repeatedly and drew thoughts and inspiration from her many Caring writings. She stands as a model for a scholar-teacher and a giant in our field.