[Vocabulary] Meaning of 'vulnerable'

[englishhobby]

What does 'vulnerable' mean in the following context?


A good teacher is vulnerable.


Vulnerable – Allowing your students to gain insight into your life without revealing a lot.


Vulnerability allows students to relate to their teachers as they share in common interests such as sports, television, etc.

 

[tedmc]

Where did you get the sentence from?

"Vulnerable" is normally associated with something negative i.e. being susceptible to attack, criticism, temptation, etc.
The two meanings you have given don't seem to fit the sentence.

 

[englishhobby]

Where did you get the sentence from?

"Vulnerable" is normally associated with something negative i.e. being susceptible to attack, criticism, temptation, etc.
The two meanings you have given don't seem to fit the sentence.

I got it from here: http://teaching.about.com/od/Inform...ive-Essential-Qualities-Of-A-Good-Teacher.htm

Was this article written by a non-native English speaker?

And this is what I found about the educational backgrund of the author of the article:

Derrick Meador attended Oklahoma State University where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education - Middle Level Science. Derrick also attended Northeastern State University where he earned a Master's degree in Educational Leadership. He is certified in Oklahoma for elementary education, middle level science, physical education, elementary principal, middle school principal and high school principal.

 

[tedmc]

A good teacher is vulnerable.

Vulnerable – Allowing your students to gain insight into your life without revealing a lot.

Vulnerability allows students to relate to their teachers as they share in common interests such as sports, television, etc.

I do not agree with the use of the word "vulnerable" in the above sentences.
I think "approachable" and "approachability" would have been more suitable.

 

[kilroy65]

I got it from here: http://teaching.about.com/od/Inform...ive-Essential-Qualities-Of-A-Good-Teacher.htm

Was this article written by a non-native English speaker?

There is a sentence in the introductory part of the article which is ungrammatical:
"Good teachers are made up of a combination of hundreds of qualities that allow them do their job effectively."

I agree with tedmc's opinion regarding word choice.

 

[Tdol]

A poor teacher is more vulnerable than a good one IMO. A bad teacher might allow students to gain insights into their life without revealing a lot, but even if this were true of a good teacher, the students would only learn positive things, which would not make him or her vulnerable. If you cannot be attacked, you aren't vulnerable.

 

[Barb_D]

There is a sentence in the introductory part of the article which is ungrammatical:
"Good teachers are made up of a combination of hundreds of qualities that allow them do their job effectively."

This seems a simple typo to me. I make a ton of typing mistakes, but it doesn't mean I don't have a grasp of English grammar. It should have been caught by an editor, but let's not make assumptions.

 

[Barb_D]

I think I have a different understanding of vulnerable than some others here. Maybe "open" and "authentic" are good choices too, but it means the teacher won't seem like a solid wall of perfection, but admits that there are things they struggle with - they show they are "real people."

 

[englishhobby]

I think I have a different understanding of vulnerable than some others here. Maybe "open" and "authentic" are good choices too, but it means the teacher won't seem like a solid wall of perfection, but admits that there are things they struggle with - they show they are "real people."

I think it's again about differences in BrE and AmE (but this meaning of 'vulnerable' hasn't been fixed in dictionaries yet, right?).
I like this meaning and I try to be 'vulnerable' (= more open) with my students in this meaning of the word, telling them about some details of my life not directly related to the material under study. This helps to buld a good rapport with the students, at least I believe so.

 

[Barb_D]

telling them about some details of my life not directly related to the material under study.

I would not use the word "vulnerable" for this.

Vulnerable shows some sort of (potential) weakness. Simply sharing that you went skiing over the holiday or that you have a cat named "Mojo" doesn't make you vulnerable. Saying "I was always worried about how people would perceive my English when I first started using it - would my accent be too strong?Would they laugh at me?" -- that shows vulnerability.