Gender and Learning

Throughout some of our classes I have found myself thinking about the connection betweens one's gender and how well they learn. I think about the different words we'll use to describe a man or a woman for the same action with different connotations. For instance, you'll see someone say, "she's bossy," if she takes control of a situation, whereas a boy would be acting as a leader. There's also the action of a woman being organized is expected and a boy is expected to be dirtier and less organized. Do these cultural norms that have been ingrained in our lives since the awakening of our minds hinder one's ability to learn, or does it only hinder one gender from learning a subject better than the other? Does it have an affect on education?

Passion for Learning

What causes a passion for learning? What causes that spark in one's mind that builds a fire that can only be quenched with knowledge? We have talked about how one needs a passion for education, or what they are learning to really retain the information. It is also important to note that there is a difference between retaining information and really learning, as opposed to memorizing something that you will use for a short amount of time, and then when you have finished with the information, you forget it. What causes a passion for learning? If you don't have a passion for learning, why continue your education?

Lying in Relationship to Education

During our last class, we spent a lot of time discussing the concept of lying and how lying affects the relationship between the teacher and the student. During this conversation, we talked about many different concepts. One being that although lying is inherently bad, it isn't bad because of what happens to someone else, but rather it's bad for what it does to the person being the liar. It allows one to deny themselves from a reality they know to be true. I find this very interesting. It seems like, for one to acknowledge that something is true and a part of reality, you must be able to admit that, but if you cannot admit the truth to another, than not only are you refusing that person access to what is a reality, but you are denying acceptance of what you know is true. I would never have thought about lying in that sense, but after thinking about it and talking it through, it makes a lot of sense to me.

If you relate this to being an educator, if you lie to students, you are, it seems withholding the right their right to be fully informed of the reality they live in, as well as with holding the ability to accept the reality you yourself live in. You no longer become a credible person to teach if you can not teach about what is or is not a part of reality,

Fight for the City!

I found the conversations we've had in this very interesting, and have discovered many complex ideas hidden within the text that we are ready. Being so, there is one concept that was pointed out to me that I have specifically spent a lot of time thinking about. That concept would be that during Book I of The Republic of Plato, by Allan Bloom, the debate, or fight as some would call it, between Thrasymachus and Socrates isn't only a debate to impress the potential students around them, but also a battle for the future of the excellence of the city. When I first read the argument between the two, I had initially thought that it was only a battle of wit to not only steer the conversation in the direction Socrates wanted, but to influence the affluent young aristocrats to be taught and converse by him, rather than by being charged and taught by Thrasymachus who was a sophist, but upon learning what happened in real-world Athens a few years after this fictional conversation took place really put things into perspective. This argument then seemed like a fight you would see happening between the devil and the angel on one's shoulder. Socrates would be teaching the men important concepts, and a way to live life that relies less on only striving to be powerful and rich, whereas Thrasymachus represented the devil, pushing the men towards a corrupt place where they would do anything to stay in power, even if that means killing anyone who speaks out against you. When I was re-reading the argument it felt like a fight for life in death with a bunch of other factors falling into the equation, factors that I had missed before. It's crazy how having the backstory actually changes one's perspective of what is happening.

Introduction Post

I am so excited to be participating in Philosophy of Education, especially since we are working with some of Plato's work. I am excited to see where we go with this class and what we are covering. It's very strange to think about how Education is such an important thing, something that we need to get good, well-paying jobs, but it's not really talked about in the current world of philosophy. I hope this will change soon, since education is such vital thing needed to progress in our society.