Let's Fix Education / by Bruce Deitrick Price
Savvy, practical insights on where our Education Establishment went wrong and how most schools can be improved.LET'S FIX EDUCATION explains the many dysfunctional theories and methods operating within our schools. This podcast is intended for parents, teachers, and community leaders who want education reform.
Each week, LET'S FIX EDUCATION examines another problem in our public schools, such as: Constructivism. Learning styles. Sight-words. No memorization. Cooperative learning. Prior knowledge. Reform math. The dilution of knowledge. Common Core. Project-based learning. Student-centered, etc. In fact, there are DOZENS of counterproductive learning and teaching theories, all made worse by ideological motives.
Bio: Bruce Deitrick Price is a novelist, artist, and education reformer. He has analyzed the problems in education for more than 30 years. Price is the author of "Saving K-12: What happened to our public schools? How do we fix them?" (190 pages) His main education site is Improve-Education.org. For more information about book and author, visit Lit4u.com. Newest novels are "Frankie" (about a harmless robot) and "The Boy Who Saves The World" (about a boy who saves the world).
"Bruce Price’s SAVING K-12 is a MUST read! It is precise, concise and powerful. Action is required…for the sake of our children, our grandchildren and the future of the American Republic!” Robert W. Sweet, Jr., long-time President of The National Right to Read Foundation
Let's Fix Education / by Bruce Deitrick Price
Episode 191: How To Teach Philosophy Every Day (Wed, Feb 26, 2025)
Episode 191: How To Teach Philosophy Every Day (Wed, Feb 26, 2025)
Epoque Times, a great newspaper, presents a daily feature: great quotes from great minds.
So you know that, quickly and cheaply, all schools can teach philosophy all day long. Use Epoque Times or create your own feature.
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*****************LITERARY NEWS:
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Let's Fix Education explains to Americans why their schools are so bad. The people in charge prefer mediocrity because they are socialists of one kind or another. If people work together to promote real education, we'll have it.
LET'S FIX EDUCATION by Bruce Deitrick Price
Wed, Feb 26, 2025
Episode 191
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How To Teach Philosophy Every Day
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Epoque Times, a great newspaper, presents a daily feature: great quotes from great minds.
I love these quotes. I enjoy each day’s dose. Every classroom should find a way to include these bursts of wisdom. They are a tremendously simple and economical way to touch on History, Philosophy, Critical Thinking, Logic, Mental and Spiritual Health, Geography, almost anything you can think of.
Here are some examples:
"There is only one way to happiness and that is to stop worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” Epictetus
“I would rather excel in knowing the secrets of philosophy than in war.” Alexander the Great
The main phenomenon you see on display is that huge mental jumps can be expressed in 10 or 20 words. Secondly, some quotes are from Greek and Roman times, 2500 years ago. Even students will sense the sophistication of so much we take for granted today. I feel that human history really started to accelerate in Athens. Not that long ago I encountered a book everybody else seems to have read: Plutarch’s Lives. I had an unexpected personal reaction. Life in ancient Athens seemed to me just as electric and multifaceted as life in Manhattan, where I lived 30 years.
I applaud Epoque Times for carrying this feature. I wrote to congratulate the publisher and urged him to create a similar feature for use by publications around the world. The feature would of course include the web address of Epoque Times. So the quotes become a great promotional device for everyone involved. Each publication’s editors could brainstorm the creation of a bit of commentary so the installments could be copyrighted.
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: so take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.” Marcus Aurelius
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Mahatma Gandhi
Now let me suggest that you don't use these things passively. You present them to the students as something exciting. Then you urge your students to summarize; correct each other's impressions; and argue over what is true and false. Then you have got them. Now they are critical thinkers! Real education is right there in front of you.
We have a major problem in that reading is not taught at all or very poorly. Last week I saw a new reason why we need more philosophy in the classroom. Families are smaller and there is less talk around the dinner table.
I would say we are in a desperate situation. Any way you can, contrive to get people to discuss things.
Here's an idea I had tucked away for years. Show children a pair of similar pictures, of ANYTHING. Beautiful sports cars, famous art, movie stars, nature scenes. It doesn't matter. Encourage the children to pick their favorites. And then ask them to argue that their favorite should be everybody's favorite.
“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” Thomas Jefferson
“Real knowledge is knowing how little you know.” Confucius
I'm disappointed that EPOQUE TIMES did not want to offer a feature to the world, but I tried. Now I'm free to urge publishers everywhere to take advantage of this simple addition to their publications. Encourage your staff to check the Internet for lists of great quotes. Everyone will soon find their personal favorites. Brainstorm opinions so that commentary happens easily. And maybe get a classical-looking picture for atmosphere and then pick a title, Philosophy Today; Philosophy Now; Philosophy for the 21st Century; or similar.
“Example, whether it be good or bad, has a powerful influence.” George Washington
“He who knows others is learned;
he who knows himself is wise.”Laozi
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