Aristotle
1. Who
is Aristotle?
a.
One
of the greatest philosophers of all time, Aristotle was a Greek polymath born
in Chalcidice. Learning from the very best, he gained his knowledge and
groundwork from two other very well-known philosophers: Plato and Socrates.
Studying subjects from poetry to meta-physics, his understanding of the world
at the time was beyond comparison. However,
his love for learning did not come from any outside motives. The drive to learn
and teach was one that for Aristotle was very innate. His motivation to understand
the world around him lacked any great reward. He learned simply for the sake of
learning.
b.
The Father of most notably everything
c.
Student of both Plato and Socrates
i.
The first teacher
ii.
Taught Alexander the Great
iii.
Great teachers create great students. The
process of passing down the importance of education can create equally great
teachers.
d.
Learned: Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Ethics,
Deductive reasoning, History, Logic, Metaphysics, Rhetoric, Philosophy of mind
and science, Physics, Poetry, Political theory, Psychology, Scientific Theory,
Zoology
i.
Zoology: Actually went out into the world to
learn, rather than lacking the actual experience from learning
e.
“The last person to know everything there was to
be known in his time.”
f.
Brought about the entirety of Aristotelian
thinking
i.
Still taught in American classrooms
2. Expanding
knowledge as a value
a.
Expanding
upon knowledge with enthusiasm is the only way to truly learn something.
b.
Education is extremely important and should be
respected as such
c.
Internal gain, not external
d.
Knowing things to know them
e.
Practices and certain motions aren’t always in
use, but foundations were built
3. American
dream
a.
The
American Dream is all about progressing forward and building upon previous
foundations.
b.
Focuses on constant improvement
i.
Both in science and the quality of human life
c.
Nothing is ever finished and can be improved
4. Liberal
Education
a.
To
further this dream and appreciation for building upon knowledge, that
enthusiasm needs to be rekindled.
b.
Christopher B. Nelson
i.
President of St. John’s College in Annapolis,
Maryland
ii.
“Learning for the Sake of Learning”
iii.
“The reward for learning attributable to a
desire to know—simply for its own sake—is something I want to call “happiness.”
This is not a fulfillment that comes to an end in the gratification of a
desire, but an activity, an active engagement in an ongoing project that best
defines what it means to be human.”
iv.
Cultivate a love of learning
v.
Quotes Socrates’ love as well
1. John
Dewey
a.
Education
is a process concerning both the children’s interactions with the knowledge and
their interests in it.
i.
Education is social and interactive
1.
Helps social reform when allowed to experience the world around them
2.
Emphasized own learning
ii.
A way of knowledge and learning how to live
iii.
Inactivity the student
1.
"the child
is simply the immature being who is to be matured; he is the superficial being
who is to be deepened"
2.
Connections must
be made for knowledge to be retained
3.
Take into
account the student’s interests.
2. College
Education
a.
There’s
a certain feel to university life that can leave little room for complete
interest classes.
i.
Classes that have to be taken
1.
Majors and minors
ii.
Classes that should be taken
1.
Extra important classes for well rounding
iii.
Classes that actually interest the student
1.
Too expensive to consider after all the
others
iv.
No more jack of all trades educations
1.
Specialization is key in our culture
