Using 'Ordinary Language Analysis' for Teaching Philosophical Concepts in the Classroom

Abstract

Introduction: A major problem of teaching philosophy to children, in both the public and private sectors, is that the large proportion of children who could benefit by such instruction are never exposed to it. This is the result of many factors including teachers who are not prepared in philosophy, the resistance or inability of schools to offer such instruction, and the unwillingness of philosophers (both general and educational) to involve themselves in these kinds of enterprises. Many times the only exposure prospective teachers receive is an undergraduate course in the philosophy of education. And in many instances where even this course is not required, teachers are not introduced to philosophical thinking until they begin their graduate studies. Even here there is often only a one course requirement (if that), and, in any case, the applicability of philosophy to educational practice is often lost by this time.