| In the fourth and closing week, we will begin
by generating discussion on the troubling claim
that the aim of values education is to merely
have students prize and freely choose their own
value beliefs (the values clarification approach)
without seeking justification. In our examination
of this approach, we will ask whether becoming
self-aware about one’s own values is an
end in itself and whether such an approach leads
to a “values wasteland.” Philosopher
Wendy Turgeon will join us this week and facilitate
sessions on the value of exploring non-linguistic
avenues of artistic expression in the aesthetic
education of children. She has developed, and
currently teaches philosophy for children courses
at St Joseph’s College and SUNY-Stony Brook.
She has also served as a trainer for the Institute
for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.
We will read Gareth Matthews’ Chapter, “Child
Art,” and discuss examples of children’s
art supplied by this week’s scholars. Art
historian Linnea Dietrich will talk with us about
meaning in art and will develop her thesis through
an examination of slides of art works, including
children’s art, expressive of meaning. A
trip to the Miami art museum, where Bonnie Mason
(Curator of Education) will provide an informative
session on the educational role of the museum
in children’s learning, will help demonstrate
ways in which the arts can be integrated into
children’s education.
As I have said, throughout the Institute we
will develop hands-on exercises that explore
methods for integrating insights gained during
the Institute into actual classroom activities.
These may generate teaching projects, typically
lesson plans and discussion guides created by
groups of two or three. In this way we will
be more than observers, we will be participants
who learn from each other. In addition, participants
will be asked to provide a short, reflective
paper explaining the importance of the humanistic
content of their projects. Two Institute faculty,
Joyce Corriero and Kristin Sewald, will be key
resources in helping us in our transition from
theory to classroom practice. Joyce, who played
a crucial role in the success of the earlier
Institutes, is a veteran elementary school teacher
who holds a New Jersey Elementary Education
Teaching Certificate K-8. Kristin, who was also
invaluable in the earlier Institutes, holds
a masters degree in philosophy and has trained
elementary school teachers in programs designed
to teach children critical listening and thinking
skills by utilizing philosophical dialogues.
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