In this week’s issue, a playful session from Tom that requires the deconstruction of a concept that pupils hold dear, with an ominous outcome if progress isn’t made!
r
What is a ‘holiday’?
r
Very few concepts have clear, obvious definitions, and this makes them ripe for philosophical enquiry. The concept of a ‘holiday’ is bursting with contestable criteria: do holidays need to be relaxing? Are they always breaks from work? Do holidays require travel?
Very few concepts have clear, obvious definitions, and this makes them ripe for philosophical enquiry. The concept of a ‘holiday’ is bursting with contestable criteria: do holidays need to be relaxing? Are they always breaks from work? Do holidays require travel?
r
It is also a concept that means something to pupils, and they will be excited about the summer holidays ahead. In this stimulus and session plan (click to download), the government has decided that all words that cannot be defined will be removed from the dictionary, and that the things they refer to will also cease to exist – can they define ‘holiday’ in a way that is proof against all counterexamples?
It is also a concept that means something to pupils, and they will be excited about the summer holidays ahead. In this stimulus and session plan (click to download), the government has decided that all words that cannot be defined will be removed from the dictionary, and that the things they refer to will also cease to exist – can they define ‘holiday’ in a way that is proof against all counterexamples?
r
All the best,
r
Tom
Tom