Philosophy in High School

[Volts]

That being said, I'd love to see high school students debating the philosophical points of what makes something moral or immoral.
Far too many church-sheltered individuals only have spoon-fed responses to those types of questions.

They should be able to offer good arguments for the ethical positions that they take. If they think that certain moral questions can only be answered by appealing to Scripture, then they should be able to give a good reason for why they believe that. If they trust what the Bible says, they should be able to give good reasons why they believe the Bible.

 

[PureX]

philosophy should start in the first grade
and
it does at catholic shools

I attended Catholic schools from grades 1-9, and there was never any more than a passing discussion of philosophy, logic, or critical thinking.

 

[PureX]

I think philosophy should be a mandatory discipline in high school. Not just training in critical thought, conceptual analysis and logic, but also a basic introduction to the history of philosophy. If you do not understand the basics of philosophical history, you really do not understand the basis of our civilization with our concepts of law, justice and so forth (all concepts which stems from a long philosophical history). A basic understanding of ethical theory would also be good, a high school graduate should be able to offer basic argumentation for an ethical point of view.

Why do I think this should be a part of basic education? Because I think education should be about more than pushing out workers. Education should be about making citizens.

I actually disagree with this. To gain a basic understanding of the history of philosophy would take up a lot of time, and would create a lot of confusion for youngsters. It's way over their heads, and over the heads of many adults, too. And those fundamental questions about the nature of thought and reality are not for everyone.

But the logical and critical thought processes that philosophy uses to structure coherent thinking and ensure reasoned debate would help any student (or adult) to think more clearly, speak more clearly, reason more sensibly, and understand the world around them more fully.

It's not the history of philosophical thought that we want them to know, it's the mechanics of logic, reason, and self-critique.

 

[GFR7]

One of the major problems with our public discourse is that people do not know how to think.

Philosophy is the alpha and omega (or ought to be ) of all disciplines and all discourse.

One year of philosophy courses are worth a thousand years of politically correct indoctrination.

Philosophy should be a vital part of all education, from primary school through college.

 

[Cruciform]

One of the major problems with our public discourse is that people do not know how to think. Philosophy is the alpha and omega (or ought to be ) of all disciplines and all discourse. One year of philosophy courses are worth a thousand years of politically correct indoctrination. Philosophy should be a vital part of all education, from primary school through college.

Amen. :thumb:

 

[zippy2006]

While a more rigorous philosophical curriculum would be nice, I would be perfectly happy with a required logic class (or two). A good first step might be getting this requirement at the undergraduate level. lain:

 

[Buzzword]

While a more rigorous philosophical curriculum would be nice, I would be perfectly happy with a required logic class (or two). A good first step might be getting this requirement at the undergraduate level. lain:

I took philosophy for a humanities gen ed. credit as an undergrad.

 

[The Berean]

deleted post

 

[Volts]

Do students in K-12 Catholic schools study medieval philosophers such as Aquinas?

 

[zippy2006]

Do students in K-12 Catholic schools study medieval philosophers such as Aquinas?

There just isn't a universal Catholic school curriculum. Some students will come out of high school fluent in Latin and versed the history of philosophy and Catholic philosophers, others will emerge with nothing of the sort.

So there are some very good Catholic schools where your requirement would be fulfilled, but not all schools. :idunno:

:e4e:

I took philosophy for a humanities gen ed. credit as an undergrad.

That's great. I would prefer an actual logic class, but that is still good. A logic class used to be a standard requirement in a liberal arts education. Eventually many campuses reduced the requirement to general philosophy or critical thinking, and now the requirement has simply fallen off the list of required classes in a large number of schools. Indeed I think you will find that the percentage of Catholic colleges and universities that require something like this is significantly larger than that of non-Catholic institutions, which somewhat justifies Chrys' point.

 

[Volts]

That's great. I would prefer an actual logic class, but that is still good. A logic class used to be a standard requirement in a liberal arts education. Eventually many campuses reduced the requirement to general philosophy or critical thinking, and now the requirement has simply fallen off the list of required classes in a large number of schools. Indeed I think you will find that the percentage of Catholic colleges and universities that require something like this is significantly larger than that of non-Catholic institutions, which somewhat justifies Chrys' point.

I earned a bachelor's degree from a state university in California and I was required to take a critical thinking or logic class in order to fulfill one of the general education requirements. I think all colleges should require this.

 

[The Berean]

I college I took a critical thinking class ( I got 'A' ) and a classical philosophy class. I still remember study Plato's theory of forms in that class.

 

[quip]

Critical thinking and logic are not things the educational establishment is interested in. lain:

'The man' wants children to learn skills that augment his future bottom line...not a liberal education that runs counter to it.

 

[The Berean]

'The man' wants children to learn skills that augment his future bottom line...not a liberal education that runs counter to it.

Does 'The man' himself study critical thinking and philosophy? :think:

 

[quip]

Does 'The man' himself study critical thinking and philosophy? :think:

I'd assume it's part of the curriculum at Harvard, Yale...etc.

 

[PureX]

Does 'The man' himself study critical thinking and philosophy? :think:

No. He studies the dark arts of manipulation and exploitation. And he avoids philosophy like a plague. Because with philosophy comes ethics, and ethics are anathema to "the man".