Re-opening the discussion (Part 1 of 5)

Hi, folks,

After a minisseries, a newsreport and a western, today's show is "A Retrospective"

Since the News Report of August 3rd is still generating interesting discussion in the Brazilian version of this site, I decided to bring it over here too, so that we could open up the discussion a bit (I'll do it in 5 installments, to make it easier for everyone).

Soon we'll return with our customary program. In the meantime, enjoy this section of Letters from/to/with/against/alongside with readers and citizens.

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naty said...
this is very good news. philosophy is essential for students in any field. how wonderful it is that Brazil took this step. the only problem I see is the way classes are taught and the lack of interest on the part of the students. Many of my high school classmates thought that philosophy classes were "nap time". that is, it is not enough to make it mandatory, people must become aware of its importance. to sum up, this was the first step...
oxoxoxo,
Naty.

Alterego said...
True, Naty, philosophy classes in high school, like it's often the case with Arts, physical education and foreign language classes, is just "make believe". But I'm not sure that the lack of interest is only on the part of the students. In my case, for instance, I was super interested, but we never got beyond "verb to be" every term.

But what I like about this policy is that it creates a space for this kind of discussion. And the mere passing of this law is a step towards making people aware of the importance of philosophy. As you point out, it's just a first step, but an important one at that.
Kisses,
Ester
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Mari said...
I thik that the important thing is to take Philosophy seriously within the pedagogical project. What we must not do is to teach students to think that Philosophy, Sociology and English are less important, secondary. I think they could even go into the university admission exams. Of course there will be some people who are interested, and some who aren't. This is what happens also with mathematics and history. But if philosophy is respected, the "gang" will stop considering it "nap class".

End of part 1