A Thanks to Plato

Philosophers for hundreds of years have introduced education philosophies in education. Thanks to Plato, the father of idealism, teachers can utilize idealism in their classroom. Idealism is the practice of representing things or ideas in their true form.

"In idealism, the aim of education is to discover and develop each individual's abilities and full moral excellence in order to better serve society. The curricular emphasis is subject matter of mind: literature, history, philosophy, and religion. Teaching methods focus on handling ideas through lecture, discussion, and Socratic dialogue (a method of teaching that uses questioning to help students discover and clarify knowledge). Introspection, intuition, insight, and whole-part logic are used to bring to consciousness the forms or concepts which are latent in the mind. Character is developed through imitating examples and heroes." http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP2.html

I find this philosophy to be one of the most interesting because it helps to train the mind to look at the world in a new light. This is chance for students to understand the views of others and not just their own. This openness invites my students to collect their own thoughts so that they are clear and concise. Free from distractions and created only of pure thought.

The question I find that accompanies idealism is: Can there be confusion when making thoughts too simple? I feel that the answer to this question is no. This is the point for students to address. By the simplification of their thoughts this proposes more questions that are meant to be simplified for deeper understanding of the topic at hand.