Philosophical Mindedness

 

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 Philosophical Mindedness (Comment on Christou’s The Case for Philosophical Mindedness)

Context:

Christou argues in this article that pedagogy in this era must have a philosophical mindedness; meaning that everyone engaged in a profession that involves teaching and learning must act like classical philosophers. As in Ancient Athens, philosophers must always seek for wisdom and facilitate ideas. Mindedness is not about discourse of moral action but acting in a correct and fair way. Pedagogy has still a narrow focus and as stakeholders, we should all engage in conversations to generate ideas on how to improve and make education ethic and ideal.  

Innovation:

While the application of Philosophy in pedagogy is not new, but dates back to ancient Greece, we could as educators innovate (improve) current education by teaching with philosophical mindedness. In order for this innovation to happen educators most detach from immediate pressures, consider multiple perspectives and discuss what needs continuity and what must change. In my experience as Educator and due to time pressure, we often do not come out with significant changes regarding the syllabus. However, when my school increased the number of TAs in previous years, our group decided to have a TA in charge of looking at ways to improve both content and delivery of the course with a student-focus, which made us more attentive to their needs and more reactive.

Creativity:

Christou states that most educators act on firm principles and presumptions that guide policies and funding but if we take the Socratic approach of always questioning and reformulating those presumptions as educators we can come with creative ways to transform pedagogical research, policy, curriculum and tradition. In order to do so, stakeholders need to look for ways to reduce cognitive dissonance and understand that education is not fixed, ethics evolve and ambiguity is tolerable. In my experience, being in schools that support ethical practices, open spaces for conversations and allow for freedom have given me the opportunity to be creative when designing curriculum, for example having assignments aimed at reflecting on social marketing instead of regular quizzes.

Teaching:

Christou explains that teachers must be like classical philosophers, seeking for wisdom, facilitating the birth of ideas and critical mind in students. For this, I find that studying and discussing controversial topics in class is key.    Likewise, mindedness includes creating habits of mind and human life as opposed to having students retain data or have dexterity with a skill, which is part of a more complete definition of teaching. An important element that I consider here, is how Christou refers to Osborne, regarding how understanding history affects present and future actions, and the need to teach history in every course to help students understand how to reform the system. I have experienced that for example, when I talk about the history of marketing and how it is evolving to social marketing, students change their negative impression of the profession and look for ways to use it as a tool of communication.

Learning:

Christou encourages open-mindedness in students by using philosophical pedagogical mindedness where they learn not only knowledge or skills, but values and beliefs that prepare them to be ethical persons and allow them to develop ongoing and active reflection. One way to do so, is by considering learning as constant conversations, that gives voice to anyone in the classroom. I have experienced this when I tell students that they all have expertise in marketing as consumers and that their opinion is as important as the one of marketers, they feel more eager to participate and learn.

Questions to the author:

• Based on your research, are there examples of institutions that include Philosophy as part of their Pedagogy curriculum and what are some of the positive effects ?
• Are you aware if Ethics/Philosophy or Civism has been considered as a subject for Primary, Secondary and High-Schools in Canada (In my times in Mexico, we did have a course called Civism)?

Reference:

Christou, T.M. (2012). The Case for Philosophical Mindedness, Philosophical Inquiry in Education, Volume 20(No. 1), 2012, pp. 14 - 23