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Lesson 3
Critical Thinking & Writing: Recap & HW #3
On Sunday we discussed:
-The difference between knowledge and opinion
-Arguments for skepticism about the empirical (external) world
-The unreliability of the senses
-Descartes’ evil demon thought experimentDrawing on what we discussed in class, write a short essay (about three paragraphs) answering the question: is there anything that you can know for certain? Descartes argues that the only thing you can know with certainty is that you exist. But you don’t have to agree with Descartes! Also, try to structure your argument in the format we’ve been practicing.
Prepare for next week:
For Sunday, students should watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA2cdHLKYB8 and think about the question: is mathematics invented or discovered?
Lesson 2
Critical Thinking & Writing: Recap & HW #2
Today we talked about the story of “the Ring of Gyges” and play the “the Prisoners’ Dilemma” game. In both cases, we talked about the ways in which the good of the individual can differ from the good of the collective. If someone had the ring of Gyges, they would be able to do whatever they wanted without getting caught. This might be good for one individual, but if everyone had the ring then society would be in trouble. With the prisoners’ dilemma, we talked about how the best outcome for everyone can be the one that it is not in the rational interest of any individual to choose.
In light of the discussion, write a short essay (about three paragraphs) answering the question: what is the relationship between the good of the individual and the good of the community? Is the individual’s self-interest always in conflict with the interest of society, or can they be brought into harmony? Feel free to draw on class discussion as well as your personal experience when putting together your argument.
Hint: Philosophers place a great deal of emphasis on the structure of their arguments. Therefore, it might be a good idea to organize your essay in the following way. Begin by stating the position you are defending. Then, give a few reasons to support your position (think about what we talked about in class). In another paragraph, briefly summarize an objection or two that an opponent might make in response to your argument. Then, in a final paragraph, explain why you think your opponent’s arguments are not strong enough to refute your own. This format is very effective, which is why it is so common among professional philosophers! Don’t worry if you find it difficult to put your arguments in perfect order, we will continue to practice structuring arguments over the course of this class.
Reading assignments for next lesson:
The 3 pages on the evil demon thought experiment,see attachments.
Another optional assignment is (optional because the language might be difficult) Meditation II from Descartes Mediations on the first philosophy.
Summary for lesson 10
What did we cover
– Reflected on the last lesson
– Discussed who are favourite character was and why
– Did a character study (using pictures of characters from the film)
– Learned some ‘fun facts’
– Worked through the questions for the second half of FMFClass report
We began the lesson today by discussing who our favourite characters were and why. It was
fascinating to hear the students’ views, and very interesting to see that all the characters were
mentioned by at least one student. We developed this discussion to talk about how the central
character is often seen as a ‘hero’ and how there are also ‘villains’. From here, we thought
about who Mr. Fox would see as the villain and who the farmers would see as the villain.
Next, we looked at some images taken from the film of the characters. Not only did the
students infer some excellent character details based on what these images showed, they
also made some great comparisons to how they differ in the book and the film.
We spent a little time talking about some ‘fun facts’ about the book and film. I am so glad that
the students tend to enjoy learning this trivia, as it proves that they have a genuine interest in
the books and in broadening their knowledge.
We then moved onto the VIPERS questions. The students have continued to improve in the
quality of their answers to these questions; everytime a student answers they give some
fantastic details, and I am so pleased to see the students using quotes from the text more
frequently to back up their answers.
We will now be taking a break of one week before we start on the next few books, beginning
with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. As these books are longer and more complex, they
will confront the students with new and exciting challenges; they will be encourage to think
further and deeper, and this will enable them to discover even more skills and interests.
As we have reached an important stage of the programme (5 weeks in) and we are about to
take a short break, I would like to comment on how much I have enjoyed teaching the
students over the last five weeks. It has been a real joy to see them develop in skills and
confidence, and I am so excited to see how much further they can progress as we embark on
the next stage in a week’s time.Homework for lesson 10:
Write the first paragraph of the prequel to Fantastic Mr Fox.
OR
Write a short paragraph about your favourite part of the book.The end
Summary for lesson 9:
What did we cover
– Discussed the homework tasks and what we did well on/could improve
– Reflected on the last month
– Discussed which book has been our favourite and why
– Did a character study (using illustrations)
– Worked through the questions for the first half of FMF
– Debated whether we feel sorry for the farmersClass report
It was wonderful to begin work on FMF, as many of the students had said last week that they were incredibly excited to start lessons on the book.
We began by reviewing our work so far (as we have been learning together for a whole month now). I remarked how pleased I have been with the wonderful progress the students have made over the last four weeks; it is so clear that they have gained a lot of confidence, insight,and skills over the past 8 sessions, and it is incredibly exciting to think how much further they will progress over the coming weeks.
We went round and discussed which books we had most enjoyed and why. I was pleased that every book we studied was mentioned at least a few times! The reasons the students gave for their answers were also incredibly interesting; it seems that they enjoy the more ‘challenging’
of Dahl’s books, which is good as we move forward to work on his longer and more complex works.
Next, we did a character study of the key characters in FMF. It is great to see how much better the students are at inferring details about characters from drawings of them, and I believe it is a really useful exercise for us to continue doing at the start of each next set of lessons.
The students were wonderful at providing answers to the VIPERS questions. One thing which I noticed was how much the students enjoy elaborating their answers; rather than just stating the answer in its simplest form, many of the students clearly love to go into more detail about how they came to finding their answers and how it links to the rest of the story. This is absolutely wonderful to see and it will certainly help them when they come to doing English assessments in the future.
We finished by debating whether we felt sorry for the farmers. As usual, the students were lively, engaged, and shared some very interesting ideas. They continue to build upon each other’s answers, which I have been very pleased to see and actively encouraging.Home work for lesson 9:
Imagine you are one of the farmers. Write a letter of complaint about the problems you have
been having on your farm.
OR
Summarise the first half of the book in 4 sentences.VIPERS questions for lesson 10 to be discussed on Thur:
Summary for lesson 8:
What did we cover
– Discussed the homework tasks and what we did well on/could improve
– Reflected on last lesson
– Discussed some ‘fun facts’
– Studied what we can tell about a character from their name
– Worked through the questions for the second half of Matilda
– Debated whether we could want to keep the superpowers or be put in a higher classClass report
Today we completed our second and last lesson on Matilda; this has been the longest and most dense book we have studied so far, and I was really impressed by how all the students managed this change.
We began our session by recapping what happened in the story so far, then we spent some time discussing what we can tell about the characters from the names they have (i.e. Miss
Honey being sweet, Miss Trunchbull being bullish). Following this, we learned some fun facts about the book; the students seemed to particularly enjoy the facts about the earlier versions of the book.
The students all provided some wonderful answers to the VIPER questions we discussed. I have continued to notice how students who were initially more shy have been making a marked effort to volunteer their thoughts; this has been so wonderful to see, and it shows how much more comfortable and confident the students are becoming. We spent some extra time with certain questions in order to discuss the students’ different opinions on certain matters (i.e. what makes a ‘good’ punishment).
We finished off by debating whether, if we were Matilda, we would keep the powers and stay in the lower class or go to the class which challenges us but lose our powers. This was a
really fascinating way to end the lesson, as the students had many different ideas and gave some excellent reasons for their answers.
The students were very excited to start on Fantastic Mr Fox; I too am very much looking forward to continuing our work together.Home work for lesson 8:
Write a story about another magic trick that Matilda does.
OR
Do you think this book is entertaining? Explain why.
Summary for lesson 7:
What did we cover
– Discussed the homework tasks and what we did well on/could improve
– Reflected on last week’s lesson
– Summarised the first half of the book
– Did character studies (using illustrations by Quentin Blake)
– Worked through the questions for the first half of Matilda
– Discussed whether Matilda is ‘right’ in getting revenge on her fatherClass report
I was very excited to get started on Matilda with the students, as they had expressed how much they were looking forward to these lessons last week. Matilda is a far longer and more
dense book than those we have studied before, so it will be an interesting challenge for the students.
We began our lesson by reflecting on what we have done so far, and discussed the fact that Matilda is slightly different to the other books we have looked at. One student in each group
then gave a summary of the first half. After this, we moved on to look at some illustrations of the characters and discussed what we could infer about them from their pictures; I was
delighted to see that the students were far more capable and confident in this exercise than they were the first time they did it (with Esio Trot). This shows that they are really taking
onboard the lessons and skills they are learning.
As we worked through the questions, we always had in mind the question ‘is Matilda right to do what she does’. In relation to this, we discussed how it is interesting that many of Dahl’s
books have characters that seek to ‘get revenge’. The students, as always, provided some great answers, and some really intriguing debates arose throughout the lesson.
We finished off by discussing the question of revenge; it was fantastic to hear so many different ideas and opinions, and I was particularly pleased to see the students engage in conversation with each other.Home work for lesson 7:
Imagine you are Miss Honey. Write a diary entry from the day she first met Matilda.
OR
Summarise the first half of the book in 4 sentences.
VIPERS questions for lesson 8
