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Teaching Philosophy as Education and Evaluation of Thinking Essay

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ABSTRACT: Teaching philosophy and critical thinking is one of the main ways to clearly reaffirm the value of human persons and of goodness and freedom. It is not sufficient to propose a philosophical message, but we must teach it systematically (curriculum) with a real synergy between teachers and parents. We must also build a curriculum, which includes an evaluation model based on clear goals and objectives: the intermediate and final evaluation and assessment will enable us to be sure that we have reached our aim. It is also necessary to verify every step, evaluate it and compare it to the criteria (general project, goals, objectives) we put in our mind and use in our teaching. This critical evaluation needs methods and some teaching …show more content…

A problem arises about the teacher, whose duty would be to propose and not to impose his ideas: truth, freedom and human person could be at risk, particularly in developing situations. It is possible to overcome these problems by a philosophical education that could be able to teach critical thinking as a method to evaluate, assess and verify ideas, events and everything that is transmitted. This is a way philosophy can maintain its main traits. The present communication will say how we can teach philosophy, and how we can evaluate philosophical learning (High, 1991; O'Loughlin, 1991), and how we can evaluate critical philosophical learning.

The teaching of philosophy want to obtain the integral education of human person, to know the meaning of human existence and activiy (PIERETTI, 1991).

The teaching of philosophy is a contribute to «complete formation of the human subject, specially in doing philosophy, asking to know, to look for the truth, to compare opinions, to dialogue with others subjects, with nature, with God. This kind of teaching significantly contributes to know the human nature and to discover values and meanings of life and community (RIGOBELLO, 1979).

II. Education and its role in teaching philosophy

The teaching process tries to

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