Philosopher and educator

Founder of the Paideia Proposal (the “great books” seminar and curricula)› Believes in a universal education for

grades K-12› Prepares students to be critical thinkers

and life-long learners

3 Universal Objectives for Basic Schooling

1. Basic schooling needs to provide students with the opportunity to fully develop.

2. Basic schooling must do everything it can to make children good citizens.

3. Basic schooling must prepare children to earn a living later in life.

Basic schooling should involve a 12 year required course of study› The only elective offered to students is a

foreign language

Curriculum is organized into 3 columns of teaching and learning › Columns move from the simple to the most

complex

First Column: › Students are taught using textbooks and manuals› Students learn information about mature, man, and

human society Second Column:

› Teachers coach students› Students develop habits of performance; acquire

linguistic, mathematical, scientific, and historical knowledge

Third Column:› Teachers use a Socratic method of teaching › Students gain a better understanding of what they

already know

Quality of Learning› Active learning, by aided discovery

Quality of Teaching › Teachers aid discovery › Impossible to get enough truly educated

human beings to be teachers Solution?

The National Paideia Center (NPC) was founded in 1988 at University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The Guilford County School District in North Carolina, 70 out of 97 schools apply the Paideia method to their teaching as of 7 years ago.

Results are mostly positive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBMTAJ-1X5U

The title of the movie on youtube is “Southwestern University Paideia Program” (incase the link doesn’t work you can search for it)

Mortimer, A. (1982). The paideia proposal: Rediscovering the essence of education. The American School Board Journal.

http://www.unctv.org/paideia/resources.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBMTAJ-1X5U