When I was in elementary school, we had a "philosophy class" (it wasn't it's own separate class but there was some time designated to philosophy in the classroom). This philosophy time mostly consisted of discussions of ethics. The teacher would often give us a scenario involving an ethical dillema, and ask us what we would do in that situation. These discussions got us thinking about fairly complex things. Not only did it get us thinking about how we would act in an ethical dilemma, but it got us thinking about why we would act a certain way. I think these discussions were a positive experience for me personally. When you are young, you are still learning "right" from "wrong", but it is rare that you get an opportunity to reflect on and even challenge why certain things are considered right and certain things are considered wrong. Allowing children to explore these ethical questions could actually stengthen their understanding of right and wrong. For example, if you tell a child not to hit people, they may not obey you because they don't understand why hitting is wrong. If you allow the child to explore what they believe is right and wrong, and why, they may develop a deeper understanding of morality.
Question: Should children be taught logic and reasoning?
No comments:
Post a Comment