THIS IS MY FIRST BLOG FOR ENGLISH 501. DON'T READ THE OTHERS... THEY SUCK.
Each time I learn about the "attic" or Greek orators I am intrigued by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Their philosophical ideas are techniques that I plan on using when I finally become a teacher.
To start, Socrates' opinion that people are born knowing and that knowledge can be brought out by a series of questions and answers is something I really want to agree with, but don't know how it is plausible. For instance, a person would have to have a certain degree of education in order to even participate in the question and answer situation. If the students do not understand the questions (because of their culture or vocabulary or whatever) they will have no means of extracting the information that is already inside of them. Then the question becomes: how do I ask the right question? What if our worlds do not cross (having the same language is just not enough) If this happens, am I not able to practice Socrates' theory? I hope not.
Plato, however, has a little too much emphasis in philosophy for me to fully follow him. I find the idea of Truth and the "ideal audience" intriguing. And isn't that a critical point in rhetoric? Who are you speaking to? Am I going to be daddy's little girl who wants to stay out a little later, or am I going to try to explain to my mother I am a responsible young adult, capable of a little leeway? I think this is how rhetoric ties into his philosophy. The idea of capital T in truth is a little more confusing. Is the absolute truth out there somewhere, waiting for us to discover it and interpret it correctly, or is it there, but unattainable? If it is unattainable, then does it really even matter if it's there or not? Aristotle's argument that truth is there but with a lowercase, not so absolute. Couldn't that be the same thing as Truth is there but simply unattainable? I think so. After all Aristotle derived his ideas from Plato, even if he does disagree with him.
I hope, through all of this, I will be able to take something from each philosopher and implement it in my teaching skills, allowing my students the room to disagree and derive their own ideas and beliefs from something I said.
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Congratulations to you for becoming a teacher. You bring up a good point. The attic orators have a tremendous influence on education. We teachers use the Socratic method every day. You also bring up a good point about truth with a "T" or "t" and a conversation I had with a student yesterday. I asked him a series of questions. I realized that the truth I wanted him to reach was MY Truth. My questions were designed to get him to the point that he understood my argument (and Truth) and that my truth was not necessarily his Truth. Thank you for your post! And Autumn, I think you'll be a great teacher. You're already asking the right questions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous post in that we have to be careful to teach our students how to think for themselves as opposed to telling them what to think. Socrates' innate knowledge idea is, in my opinion, true, but anyone can be led to believe a fact, but to conceive an idea, there are many interpretations from every psychological standpoint.
ReplyDeleteTo write is to use written symbols to represent language. When students are given an opportunity to create, using their own ideas, yet given guidance, it is an art. And yes everyone can have a different truth when one asks questions. Yet teachers do influence and share their ideas, as they teach. It is not only an art, it is really a balancing function as a process not only of teaching but basic communication. I only taught a year but I work within a school amongst teachers and attend many meetings and trainings still about the teaching process. So thi is just my two cents.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is possible for a teacher to teach a student even if there is little if any common ground that can be reached between the two. An educator's world might not cross with that of a pupil's, but in a learning environment it seems that this handicap is easily overcome if there is a required degree of engagment between the student and the teacher. The real problem is one of time.
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