Category Archives: edushare

We don’t learn, we remember…

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I think it’s fair to say that the recent inputs from John on the philosophy of education have left me feeling a little bit confused. However, that being said, I feel I now have a very basic understanding of some of the key theories concerning the ways in which we learn and how these can be used to improve the ways in which we teach.

The Greek philosopher, Plato, believed that we don’t learn, we remember. This is because he believed that the inner part of us – known as the soul – doesn’t change and is immortal in the sense that it has been reborn, time and again. Because of this, it has seen things in both the ‘material’ world and the ‘real’ world.

Our world, the ‘material’ world, is constantly changing and we rely on our senses to understand what’s going on. The ‘real’ world is outside of this realm and is unchanging and eternal. We understand this world not with our senses but instead with our mind.

The soul is said however, to be captivated by the workings of the body (i.e. our senses) and so we struggle to see past the illusion of our current world. Plato argued that in order to realise the ultimate reality of nature, we need to think independently of our senses, as the ‘material’ world is simply a shadow of the ‘real’ world of forms.

Plato belieapples-3-different-color-in-a-rowved that all things have a true being, a concept he explained in his Theory of the Forms.

Take apples for example:

  • What do they have in common?
  • What makes them distinctly ‘apple’?
  • What gives them their ‘appleness’?

Plato stated that there was only one form– or essence – of ‘appleness’ and that this forms the many. The form itself is unchanging and perfect (because it is from the ‘real’ world), but the apples (from the ‘material’ world) are simply an appearance of the form, which explains why they change and are imperfect.

We recognise these forms because we have a faint memory of them from our prior existence. It is this process of remembering the true reality of our world that allows us to learn, and therefore know that an apple is an apple, along with every other thing we interact with.

I think this is a really interesting concept and perhaps quite important in terms of our approach to teaching. This idea that we all have the prior knowledge there ready and waiting to be unlocked highlights the need for us as teachers to be willing to persevere with those kids who might be struggling. We need to help them rediscover what they already know.

Gender Role Stereotyping

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I never really experienced a great deal of gender role stereotyping when I was at school, or at least I like to think I didn’t. But a recent input from Jill has led me to think otherwise.

Looking back, I remember small things, like being told to line up separately or sit boy-girl. In the playground, most of the boys played football while the girls played hop-scotch or made up games of their own.  At the time, this didn’t feel wrong, but it’s only now that I realise the potentially negative implications of such behaviour in terms of gender stereotyping.

This led me to think about the way in which gender is constructed within the classroom and just how big of an impact it has on the learning environment. That’s why I think it’s so important to be aware of this as a teacher, because these stereotyped ideas about what’s suitable for boys and girls can limit children’s opportunities to learn and develop.

Take being lined up separately for example. It’s thought by some that boys get up to too much mischief if they’re left to their own devices and that the presence of girls have a positive, calming effect on their behaviour. While perhaps true on a certain level (although I’m not entirely sure I agree), it affirms this idea that boys and girls should be treated differently, which I think is wrong.

And I think this is one of the major challenges that teachers face – establishing environments both inside and outside of the classroom that don’t favour one group of students to the detriment of another group – and is definitely something that we need to tackle on a bigger scale.

Why teaching?

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I can’t really remember ever wanting to pursue anything other than teaching, and I’m sure if you were to go back in time and ask five year old me, I would say the same! I loved learning as a child, especially in primary school. My teacher(s) were a big reason for this, as was my mum, and as cliché as it sounds, I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for them. So in a way, I guess part of the reason I’m so interested in teaching stems from wanting to give children a similar experience to the one I had as a child.

Teaching is such an incredibly rewarding profession, and I think children actually teach us as much as we teach them. Every day is different, and although challenging, packed full of fun. I can’t wait for that moment of realisation on a child’s face when they finally ‘get it’.

I hope to become a teacher who has children excited for what their school day has to offer, to have children inspired and eager to learn. I want to ensure they feel supported and challenged. But most of all, I hope to have children who have as fond memories as I do of my time at school.