At its core, I find the premise of this article engaging. The argument is made that approaches and philosophies regarding education are grounded in an \u2018insider\u2019 perspective, because any child of the West has significant experience with organized and institutionalized education. (p. 22) It is the duty of educators to adopt a \u2018Philosophical Mindedness\u2019 that embraces \u201can ethic of ambiguity, a willingness to question presuppositions, and a disposition of pragmatism.\u201d (p. 22)<\/p>\n
As well, the article conducts a rapid but engaging survey of existing educational theory, calling on a huge variety of sources from ancient Greece and Rome, through to Christ (p. 19 footnote 25) and modern theorists. By casting a net so large, Christou and Bullock are able to construct a broad description of their term \u201cPhilosophical Mindedness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overall, we can break down their essay\u2019s key points as such:<\/p>\n
However, I did not find this article to be particularly engaging as a result of the linguistic championing<\/em> of the authors\u2019 perspectives. We can see this grandiose validation in the following quote:<\/p>\n \u201cPhilosophical mindedness for educationists requires, at the very least, an understanding of the implications of our actions, discourse, and ideas within various and overlapping sphere of educational activity. At its best, it demands an ongoing heroic scrutinizing of our personal, institutional, and collective pedagogical beliefs.\u201d (p. 17)<\/p>\n The authors argue that their philosophy is actually \u2018heroic\u2019 in significance and anyone who follows it is a champion.<\/p>\n Using terms like \u201cphilosophical mindedness\u201d and comparisons to thinkers like Socrates and Christ help establish one\u2019s theory at the pinnacle of western philosophical acclaim. One must wonder if describing this approach as a progress-based mindset towards education \u2013 where each individual is looking critically at where they are (as a teacher, am I always providing engaging material for the students that help grow their perspectives? Does my classwork always reflect my theory of what education should be?), and how they can continue to grow, is not a more humble and effective methodology.<\/p>\n Rather than making a comparison between this and the idols of western theory, why don\u2019t we compare this and the learning habits of a toddler. Toddlers are constantly re-evaluating and re-developing their conceptions of the world, based on new evidence. They explore everything they encounter carefully and develop their own new understandings of the world. Is it not easier to mimic the learning habits of a toddler than those of Socrates?<\/p>\n