Philosophy in High School

Shouldn't they teach a little philosophy in high school? I'm not advocating anything too advanced, but maybe like an introduction to philosophy along with some of its most famous thinkers and their basic ideas.

I can think of a million reasons why they SHOULD do this. But does anyone think they shouldn't have some sort of philosophy curriculum? Or can offer a theory as to why we don't currently teach philosophy in high school?

[Dan Rutter]

They had an elective course in philosophy in my high school. Part of the elective classes available for a lot of high schools depends on student interest. If only a couple of students are interested in a subject the school may not have a class. They like having a certain minimum number of students for a class. At least thats how it was at my high school. There would be periodic announcements to try to draw more students into classes that may not be quite as popular as other subjects. But philosophy never had a problem filling up the class. If you are a student in high school maybe talk to your administration or teachers and see if an elective course in the subject could be started.

I think an intro to logic class would be a lot more practically useful for almost every student.

I'm beyond high school, I just think it would good for future generations to learn how to think.

[jthegreat]

a logic class should be mandatory

At my high school there was an outright philosophy class offered as well as english classes with a philosophy emphasis. My senior year i took an english class called great books which was definitely more of a philosophy class than english. The final for the class was to answer the question: "what is the meaning of life?"

I had no idea that many high schools didn't offer philosophy classes, is this very widespread? I can't imagine a reason other than budget constraints.

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"what is the meaning of life?"

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Was your answer 42? /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[atrifix]

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I think an intro to logic class would be a lot more practically useful for almost every student.

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Possibly, although I imagine very few high school students would be enthused by Aristotelian logic. Personally, I went to a high school of 3,000+ students and we had no philosophy classes whatsoever.

[valenzuela]

In Chile philosophy is mandatory on junior and senior year.

[GuyOnTilt]

My high school taught philosophy and logic. It was a private school, fwiw.

GoT

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I think an intro to logic class would be a lot more practically useful for almost every student.

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Possibly, although I imagine very few high school students would be enthused by Aristotelian logic. Personally, I went to a high school of 3,000+ students and we had no philosophy classes whatsoever.

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Most are not enthused by most of the classes we have them take. However, I think Logic is a very important part of being a rational person, and would be very practically useful to just about everybody.

[AAAA]

Does ethics fit in this category? How do you distinguish between religion and philosophy?

I think a survey course of a few important thinkers would be enough to spark the interest of some high school students. It wouldn't have to be comprehensive; just an overview which might serve to inspire the minds of kids who may be bored with other subjects.

I went to school in Chile but didn't make it to the junior or senior year - Allende got in the way.

Hello Valenzuela,
I'm very tired right now, so I apologize for flaming your country. As I remember it, it was very beautiful - with sugar flavored popcorn, clocks made of flowers, foootball, and beautiful women. I'm now going to bed.

They teach it as an elective at my high school but its also a private school in case that matters.