"High" Literature in "Low" Places

http://believermag.com/issues/200809/?read=article_potts

The Bhagavadgita, Chapter 10: Verse 14

"Neither the gods nor the demons, oh Lord, know Thy manifestation."

From N+1, Number Six, p. 12

It seems that intellectuals don't belong in the trenches of our education system. But, in fact, they do.

"So maybe--is this a crazy idea?--reading needs to be taught, and taught well, rather than sold. Instead of writing more well-intentioned books, why don't academics intervene directly in secondary school education? let's lend them out to state schools, public schools, and community colleges to teach for a few weeks a year. Morally, this is the equivalent of pro bono work in the legal profession. Let's reward junior professors for community teaching rather than for publishing articles in academic journals. An extra sabbatical year could be offered, during which professors would work closely with young readers. Maybe this experience could actually change the way intellectual think about literature. If a certain degree of literacy and appreciation for the complexity of great books (or just good novels) is as necessary for a healthy and free society as we've often heard or said it is, then maybe the only way forward is a Maoist-style culture revolution in reverse: INTELLECTUALS: INTO THE SCHOOLS!"

Steve Wood Publishes an Article on Positivism and The High School Philosophy Seminar

A very clear exposition of The New Positivism, and how it relates to the importance of philosophy at the high school level.

http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=c542d9691e&realattid=f_fbv6k3es0&attid=0.1&disp=vah&view=att&th=117b30eed81d84f1

topics and assign responsibility for developing curricula. Topics are chosen based

both on potential interest, relevance to the field of philosophy, and past success.

Examples include: philosophy of race; the ethics of consumption; what is beauty?;

existentialism; personal identity; religion; and others.

Seminar structure varies depending upon the personalities of participants at

differenthighschools.Someseminars(andtopics)requiremoreup-frontstructure

and leadership to begin a discussion. A discussion of Existentialism, for instance,

needs an initial introduction to the basic theories in order to have an engaging

and curious discussion. In some cases, discussions proceed successfully from an

initial question, such as ‘what is race?’ All discussions, however, are focused on the

virtues and pleasures of conversation and thought in learning. This is, by design,

in contrast with the more conventional educational format to which most of the

participants are accustomed.

Schools range from lower-achieving high schools in the DC public school

system to more selective DC public charter schools and all the way up to a top

ten US News and World Reports ranked high school in Northern Virginia. Despite

thedisparityinschoolresources,achievement,andpreparedness,theHighSchool

Philosophy Seminar approach remains more or less the same: introduce high

school students to a style of learning that emphasizes questioning, discussion,

logical reasoning, and free thinking. While there can never be a replacement for

rote memorization in certain subjects such as the sciences, the style of the High

School Philosophy Seminar is a valuable complement; the logical reasoning skills

it teaches are not only enjoyable but are crucial to success in high school, on the

SAT/ACT, and in college.

In its method, the High School Philosophy Seminar has achieved noticeable

results. Students who have previously shown frustration with education return

weekly to the seminar. What keeps them coming back? A simple approach to

philosophy the seminar leaders like to call ‘philosophical positivism.’

The term philosophical positivism is a playful reinvigoration of the name of

a famous twentieth century school of thought called ‘logical positivism.’ Logical

positivists,astheycametobeknown,usedthewordpositivismtorefertoatheory

according to which sense perceptions are the only justified basis for knowledge.

Philosophical positivism, on the other hand, uses positivism to mean ‘the state

of being positive.’ This sort of positivism is based upon the thought that if we

are to do philosophy then we should be positive about philosophy—all types of

philosophy. Ideas are fascinating things!

This, of course, is not to draw a distinction with logical positivism. The

name ‘philosophical positivism’ is simply a good-humoured use of a well-known

philosophicalterm.There’sabsolutelynothingkeepinglogicalpositivistsfromalso

being philosophical positivists and vice versa.

Philosophical positivists don’t discard any idea at first glance but take the

time to see what the inner workings of the thought really are. This entails dissolv-

ing any convoluted philosophical language and bearing the purest form of the

idea. Jargon shouldn’t be required to understand what is most interesting about

philosophical ideas; these ideas can be grasped by anyone.

If you do philosophy in high school, you’re given an all-access hall pass to

a world in which imagination can and should roam free. Through philosophical

positivism, the High School Philosophy Seminar tries to draw the inner spirit of

imaginativereasoningoutofstudentswhomaynototherwisehavetheopportunity

to discover these pleasures.

Forthoseofuswhofeelfrustratedbypedantryandhavestoppedwondering

about how God manages to eat the most scalding of Mexican food, forget about

labels, tradition, and complicated debate and remember how delightful it is to

really talk about ideas

topics and assign responsibility for developing curricula. Topics are chosen based

both on potential interest, relevance to the field of philosophy, and past success.

Examples include: philosophy of race; the ethics of consumption; what is beauty?;

existentialism; personal identity; religion; and others.

Seminar structure varies depending upon the personalities of participants at

differenthighschools.Someseminars(andtopics)requiremoreup-frontstructure

and leadership to begin a discussion. A discussion of Existentialism, for instance,

needs an initial introduction to the basic theories in order to have an engaging

and curious discussion. In some cases, discussions proceed successfully from an

initial question, such as ‘what is race?’ All discussions, however, are focused on the

virtues and pleasures of conversation and thought in learning. This is, by design,

in contrast with the more conventional educational format to which most of the

participants are accustomed.

Schools range from lower-achieving high schools in the DC public school

system to more selective DC public charter schools and all the way up to a top

ten US News and World Reports ranked high school in Northern Virginia. Despite

thedisparityinschoolresources,achievement,andpreparedness,theHighSchool

Philosophy Seminar approach remains more or less the same: introduce high

school students to a style of learning that emphasizes questioning, discussion,

logical reasoning, and free thinking. While there can never be a replacement for

rote memorization in certain subjects such as the sciences, the style of the High

School Philosophy Seminar is a valuable complement; the logical reasoning skills

it teaches are not only enjoyable but are crucial to success in high school, on the

SAT/ACT, and in college.

In its method, the High School Philosophy Seminar has achieved noticeable

results. Students who have previously shown frustration with education return

weekly to the seminar. What keeps them coming back? A simple approach to

philosophy the seminar leaders like to call ‘philosophical positivism.’

The term philosophical positivism is a playful reinvigoration of the name of

a famous twentieth century school of thought called ‘logical positivism.’ Logical

positivists,astheycametobeknown,usedthewordpositivismtorefertoatheory

according to which sense perceptions are the only justified basis for knowledge.

Philosophical positivism, on the other hand, uses positivism to mean ‘the state

of being positive.’ This sort of positivism is based upon the thought that if we

are to do philosophy then we should be positive about philosophy—all types of

philosophy. Ideas are fascinating things!

This, of course, is not to draw a distinction with logical positivism. The

name ‘philosophical positivism’ is simply a good-humoured use of a well-known

philosophicalterm.There’sabsolutelynothingkeepinglogicalpositivistsfromalso

being philosophical positivists and vice versa.

Philosophical positivists don’t discard any idea at first glance but take the

time to see what the inner workings of the thought really are. This entails dissolv-

ing any convoluted philosophical language and bearing the purest form of the

idea. Jargon shouldn’t be required to understand what is most interesting about

philosophical ideas; these ideas can be grasped by anyone.

If you do philosophy in high school, you’re given an all-access hall pass to

a world in which imagination can and should roam free. Through philosophical

positivism, the High School Philosophy Seminar tries to draw the inner spirit of

imaginativereasoningoutofstudentswhomaynototherwisehavetheopportunity

to discover these pleasures.

Forthoseofuswhofeelfrustratedbypedantryandhavestoppedwondering

about how God manages to eat the most scalding of Mexican food, forget about

labels, tradition, and complicated debate and remember how delightful it is to

really talk about ideas