Philosophy of Education

Questions are the heart of philosophy What is the world really like? How do we know something?

What does it mean to teach something? To learn something?

How should we treat each other? What is valuable?

What’s the best way of governing and arranging society?

What does it mean for something to be beautiful? Is there a correct way to reason? What is reason

anyway?

Philosophical specialties have arisen to deal with these questions Metaphysics Epistemology Ethics Political philosophy Aesthetics Logic

The origin of Western Philosophy

Socrates Plato

The parable of the cave Aristotle

Why does all this matter to teachers?

Our answers to the questions of philosophy influence how we think about schools and our classrooms.

Philosophy of education questions

What is the purpose of schooling? Of education?

What ought we to teach? How should we teach it? How should we treat our students?

How doe we expect our students to treat us?

Philosophical questions in other disciplines

What does it mean to know something?Constructivism

Do humans have free will?Behaviorism

Is there an essence to all human beings?Culture

Concrete Questions

Is it fair to treat students differently? What is the role of the state in providing

equal education for all? Can a student who fails a test be said to

know less than a student who passes? Can you really grade a student’s art project

or musical composition? Should a student’s culture influence how

they do their assignments and how they are assessed?