Prompt: Philosophical Letter to Yourself on Education

THINK:
Use this question outline for thinking through your ideas “On Education” –

Ø 
What is education for? (Good
job or Good Life?)

Ø 
What is “enlightenment”?

Ø 
Why read and write?

Ø 
What is “thinking for
yourself”?

Ø 
Incorporate symbols from
Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” to characterize your idea(s) on education: Who
is in the cave? What’s the pathway out? What does the sun symbolize?

REVIEW:
Take time to review your notes & quotes on all of the course materials
below. While you review, think about how you want to organize and synthesize a few
important ideas to remember them for incorporation into your ongoing
educational journey.

WRITE
A LETTER: Your audience for this writing is yourself.
Write a letter to yourself “On Education,” which contains some insight, truth,
or wisdom you want to remember and embody. 

This
essay covers these readings, assignments, and class discussions:

Why Education? [Essay Topic # 1] Read: Plato’s Allegory of the Cave (The Republic, VIIAllegory read with animation (8 min) Watch: Allegory of the Cave (6 min)

What is Enlightenment? Read: Kant’s “What is Enlightenment?” or listen (17 min.) Watch: Kant (8 min) Recommended for “A” students: Lecture on Foucault’s “What is Enlightenment?” (20 min); 21st Century Enlightenment (11 min)

Ways of Reading & Why Read? Read: Toni Morrison, The Dancing Mind (1996) “Introduction: Ways of Reading” (doc sharing) Watch: What is Literature For? (5 min)

Ways of Writing & Why Write? Read: Foucault, Writing the Self Watch: Dead Poet’s Society Watch: Epicureans, Stoics, and Foucault

Philosophical Letter to Yourself on Education