SALISBURY UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY
PHIL 207- Philosophy of Education
Fall 2015
Classroom: TE380
Tuesdays, Thursdays, 5.30-6.45 pm
Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:45-5:15 pm
Cristina Cammarano
103 PHILOSOPHY HOUSE
· Course Description
This course is an introduction to seminal texts, central questions, and rival traditions in philosophy of education. Our inquiry will revolve around four main questions,
What is a Child?
What is Education?
Why Schooling?
Is Philosophy a form of Education?
We will think critically in a community with fellow thinkers about questions that are central, common and contestable. We will read carefully, will interpret works from different authors, and will communicate our thinking in spoken and written form. This course has a Civic Engagement component. Students will participate in projects of “ Philosophy in Schools” with the local k-12 schools.
The course is also an invitation to develop an appreciation of the role of philosophy for personal and communal growth, and to form one’s own philosophy of education. Authors: Dewey, Rousseau, Plato, hooks, Lipman, Arendt.
Full, committed participation to all the activities is expected. You will draw upon your practices, your experiences, and your ideas as we engage in a shared inquiry on the themes of the course. The course is open to students who want to think deeply about education, no other prerequisites required.
● Services for Students with Disabilities
The University will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. As your instructor, I am happy to discuss specific needs with you as well.
● Course Requirements
Attendance is mandatory.There are no excused absences and more than two absences will impact your final grade by 10% of the attendance and participation grade for every absence beyond the second. Habitual tardiness is also not accepted and it is going to affect your participation grade.
All required reading must be prepared on time and brought to class in order to facilitate class discussion.
Written assignments should be typed, double-spaced in twelve-point type, and submitted through MyClasses. Only assignments completed/submitted through MyClasses are guaranteed evaluation. Cited material should be clearly identified in conformity with a standard style of notation (APA, Chicago, etc.) Please keep a copy of all work submitted. Please write your name, the date, and the assignment on all work submitted. Plagiarism is not accepted.
You are expected to get work in on time. Please turn in all writing before 5pm on the assigned date. Late assignments will be penalized at a rate of 10% for each day of the week (Mon-Fri), and 10% for the weekend (Sat. and Sun.) At a bare minimum, all late essays must be turned in by the final week of lecture, or it will not be considered as a component of your final evaluation.
Please no cell phones in class and absolutely no texting. Also, laptops in class prove to be distracting. Please see me if you need to bring one to class.
This course syllabus is subject to revision at my discretion during the semester.
· Writing Across the Curriculum
This course supports the writing across the curriculum goals of the university. All written work will be evaluated both on its content and the quality of writing. At the University Writing Center (GUC 206, directly above the Fireside Lounge in the Guerrieri University Center), trained consultants are ready to help you at any stage of the writing process. It is often helpful for writers to share their work with an attentive reader, and consultations allow writers to test and refine their ideas before having to hand papers in or to release documents to the public. In addition to the important writing instruction that occurs in the classroom and during teachers’ office hours, the center offers another site for learning about writing. All students are encouraged to make use of this important service. For more information about the writing center’s hours and policies, visit the writing center or its website at www.salisbury.edu/uwc.
· Academic Integrity Statement
The best learning environment is one based on mutual respect and trust. However, the desire to achieve a good grade without doing the necessary work may tempt some students to cheat on exams or to represent the work of others as their own. At Salisbury University, plagiarism and cheating are wrong and are considered acts of “academic dishonesty” i.e. a deliberate and deceptive misrepresentation of one’s own work.
Instances of academic dishonesty include all, but are not limited to, the following:
*** Plagiarism – presenting as one’s own work, whether literally or in paraphrase, the work of another author
*** Cheating on exams, tests, quizzes; the wrongful giving or accepting of unauthorized exam material; and the use of illegitimate sources of information
*** unsanctioned collaboration with other individuals in the completion of course assignments
*** Falsifying excuses for non-attendance or completion of assignments
There are no mitigating circumstances to justify academic dishonesty. IF you are unclear about what constitutes academic dishonesty or plagiarism, please ask. Ignorance is no excuse. Discovery of academic dishonesty will bring stiff penalties, including a failing grade for the assignment in question and possibly a grade of F for the course. The maximum penalty at Salisbury University for plagiarism is possible expulsion from the entire USM system, so for your own sake, maintain your academic integrity.
● Office hours and email communication
I will be in my office ( PHIL house 103) for office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:45 to 5:15 pm. I am also available at any time of mutual convenience by appointment.
I check my email regularly but not obsessively: you can expect a reply in 24-48 hours. Please be polite in your communication, give it a headline, and sign with your full name.
· BIBLIOGRAPHY
Required Books: ( Available at the University Bookstore)
1.J.J. Rousseau, Emile Or, On Education Allan Bloom (Translator) [Paperback ]
2.J.Dewey, The School and the Society. The Child and the Curriculum University of Chicago Press
3. W. Ayers, On the Side of the Child- Summerhill Revisited (Teachers College Press)
· Schedule:
week 1*What is Education? / Tuesday
September 1st / Introduction
Thursday
September 3rd / Dewey / Democracy and Education chapter 1
Week 2 / Tuesday 9.8 / Dewey / School and Society pp. 6-29, The School and Social progress
9.10 / Dewey / School and Society
pp. 30-62 The School and the Life of the Child
Week3
* Is Philosophy a form of Education? / 9.15 / Dewey / Child and Curriculum
pp. 181-209
9.17 / Philosophy in the Classroom / Lipman, Sharp
Week 4 / 9.22 / Philosophy in the Community / Planning- organization / Philosophy in schools- starts
9.24 / Montaigne / On the Education of Children
Week 5 / 9.29 / Dewey / Moral Principles in Education
10.1 / Dewey / Democracy and Education Chapter 2,3
Week6 *What is a Child? / 10.6 / *Movie showing
Event and pizza arty ( to be held 9.29 from 7-9 pm) / An Education
10.8 / No class meeting / *First paper due*
Week 7 / 10.13 / Plato / Meno
10.15 / Plato / Meno
Week 8 / 10.20 / Plato / Meno
10.22 / Plato / Meno
Week9 / 10.27 / Arendt / The crisis of education / WPD even t on campus
( date to be determined)
10.29 / Collodi / Pinocchio
Week10 / 11.3 / Rousseau / Emile, 1
11.5 / Rousseau / Emile, 1
Week 11
*What is a school? / 11.10 / Rousseau / Emile, 2
11.12 / Rousseau / Emile, 2
Week 12 / 11.17 / Rousseau / Emile, 3 (excerpts)
11.19 / Rousseau / Emile, 4 (excerpts)
Week 13 / 11.24 / *WPD event *participation / Philosophy in schools- ends
11.26 / Thanksgiving break
Week 14 / 12.1 / Ayers/ Neill / On the Side of The Child
Summerhill revisited
12.3 / Ayers/ Neill / On the Side of The Child
Summerhill revisited
Week 15 / 12.8 / Documentary Showing / Free schools
12.10 / Conclusion
· Assignments
1) This course is reading intensive. You shall devote enough time to reading for class. Please bring the texts with your notes for classroom discussion.
2) For each class, please be prepared to present on a quote of your choice from the daily assigned readings or a question for class discussion.
1) and 2) are part of the attendance and participation grade together with records of attendance and punctuality. They are heavily weighted because they are conditions for your learning and profiting from the class.
3) Midterm paper
4) Final paper
5) Civic Engagement component
-Knowledge of theories to understand the question, Is Philosophy a form of Education? Readings and material to frame this question are integral part of the course and will be read and discussed throughout the semester.
- Implementation in schools. Each student, in a team of two, will complete three one-hour- visits to a local public school, in which they will facilitate philosophical discussion with children. If possibile, we will have a ‘parent night” in which to invite families and guardians and show them what we have been doing with their children.
- Implementation on campus with schools. Students will organize a “ World Philosophy Day” (WPD) in conjunction with Unesco Philosophy day in November. Activities will take place at the Philosophy Department on campus. Students will plan, organize and lead them.
The assignment for the fourth credit enhancement is a reflective report.
The reflective report is required to document your learning during the civic engagement project. It is composed of different entries and reflective analyses.
It includes:
• Materials, questions, and exercises for the class meeting you facilitate OR for the activity you plan for WPD
• Weekly entries
• Analysis of one philosophy session as observer
• Analysis of one philosophy session as facilitator
· Grading
Attendance and participation: 25 points max / Midterm paper: 20 points maxReflective report: 25 points max / Final paper: 30 points max
Grading scale: A= 91-100points; B= 90-81 points; C=80-71 points; D= 70-61 points; F≤ 60 points.
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