Think Creative

Is a resident of the cave (a prisoner, as it were) likely to want to make the ascent to the outer world? Why or why not? What does the sun symbolize in the allegory? And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened:--Behold! human beings living in an underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets. I see. And do you see, I said, men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of vessels, and statues and figures of animals made of wood a...

I was in a discussion the other morning about the development of education and a theme came apparent about two distinct styles of teaching and their values in an educational scenario. These two types of teaching are those of instructional and deductive. To explain them a little more, the approach to instructional is that of having a teaching guiding you through a process. Much as with most modern education and that of the form of vertical thinking. Deductive thinking can be a result to instructive or a stand alone approach to education, but is based on the approach of learning from experience rather than secondary information retrieval. Teaching is an important and powerful way to get ideas, information and process across to large groups of people. The issue with this method is that it has, especially in recent years, become what can only be called "parrot' fashioned. By this it is meant that a teacher educates and the students repeat. This is done, like a parrot, until the ...