chinese philosophy

[Anonymous]

I used to teach an ESL 4 class some rudimentary debating protocols. I told them to thump their fist on the lectern whenever they had big point to make defending their point of view. It was a strategy we used to add a little drama and spice to our halting speeches. We were only working with pro and con arguments to a statement question then. Managing a debate with four competing trains of thought would be quite challenging, but doable with some preparation. I would probably ask the students to pre-select one good quote from their readings, which may require an explanation or elaboration. For French I would request that a topic statement sentence be delivered in the target language but allow some leeway with supporting arguments. I would probably enjoy training the audience to cheer and jeer with a series of stock French expressions: “absolument”, “c’est ridicule”, “n’importe quoi”. The purpose of a debate lesson is really about getting students to come out of their shells, relax and have some fun with outrageous ideas, lower that affective filter. It might be the instructional tool that will get a timid person to speak up for the first time.

[Anonymous]

Debating a topic using the three philosophies is an excellent way to engage students. I teach 6th grade students and the three philosophies is a chapter in our History Alive! textbook. I am going to use this teaching format to engage my students on a topic in order to articulate how these philosophies would respond to current events (topics).

[Anonymous]

The four schools of thought are a great way to get students hooked. Making student carry out those roles and answer scenarios based on their school of thought is an excellent way to allow them to critical think. Getting students active in any lesson plan is good. The students have fun with the content area and learn as well. I use debate in my classroom all the time except I call it philosophical chairs. This method works best with controversial issues. Students really play the part and take ownership of their roles. For high school student though you will need a set of rules and perhaps modeling the debate before hand.

[Anonymous]

The course I teach, AP World History, is REALLY BIG on cross-cultural comparison, so I've been thinking of ways to expand this debate activity to include other philosophies from other cultures. I could just add in other views that are roughly contemporary--Socrates/Plato, Buddha--or later--Jesus, Mohammed, Marx, etc. The hard part would be teaching enough about each philosophy to allow students to really debate. This might suggest narrowing the scope. Everyone could participate in a Plato vs. Confucius discussion for example or a Buddha vs the Legalists. The key is to keep the interaction and liveliness of the debate format.

[clay dube]

Hi folks,
Please use this thread to discuss the ideas and materials examined in our session on Saturday, 10/13. Please feel free to look at the specific ideas raised, the examples given, and so on. How relevant are these ideas? Will students respond to them? Have you utilized debates with your students?

I've attached a two page handout for the session, plus the curriculum guide that Ying Jia distributed earlier.
edited by Clay Dube on 10/15/2012

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