The enemies of thought are clich s, unseriousness, and ideological passions. Plato, Republic . Rousseau, Emile or On Education . We conclude with two essays from outside the professional fields of education and philosophy. Oliver Sacks, clinical neurologist, and Vicki Hearne, animal trainer and poet, both pursue their work with an uncommon intelligence that can challenge teachers to see afresh the drama of education.
Students divide themselves into groups.
Each group explores a topic in a way that both makes some reference to the major authors of the course and engages a practical concern of contemporary education. Format is left to the group, although it must engage the audience, allow in some measure for their public, critical participation, and adapt to the classroom conditions of place and time. Each student presents a 5-7 page review essay of one book selected from the Auxillary Reading List. The essay will devote 2-3 pages to a description of the book's major thesis and development. An additional 3-4 pages will be devoted to a critical discussion of an issue in the philosophy of education which is raised by the book.