Thomas Gordon: Active Listening
Beginning of paper
Thomas Gordon feels that one the most effective ways of responding to children’s “feeling” or “problem” messages is the invitation to say more or as he calls it, “the door opener”. This type of response invites the child to share his own feelings or ideas. The important thing is ....
Middle of paper
.... learn how to keep it open.
Gordon says that in order to learn how to listen actively, the teacher or parent must understand more about the communication process. He says that when a child decides to communicate with a parent or teacher, it is because he has a need. The child’s organism is in a state of “disequilibrium” because there is something going on inside him. He wants, or needs something.
In order to bring the organism back to a state of equilibrium the child begins to talk. ....
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Word count: 562
Page count: 3 (approximately 250 words per page)
