Stories or Questions?

        One of the long standing questions man has always asked is " how do we teach the next generation?" The importance of education is just as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago at the dawning of civilization. That question is in fact one that both Homer and Plato have a great influence on.  During the days of Ancient Greece, Homer's The Illiad, was so popular many people say it was the single most important book to the Greek world.  This book is filled with the tales of the fall of Troy and the gods and heroes who were there to see it all happen. It is a story driven work, where lessons of warrior ethics, honor, tradition, respect of the gods, etc. are taught. On the other hand we have the works of Plato.  Plato advised his readers to not look to these stories that taught bad moral lessons, such as war is good, throwing a temper tantrum like Achilles is okay, and rampant promiscuity ( Zeus style) is not a problem. 

     The question is more complicated than just which one is right however.  While it is easy to agree that promoting temper tantrums and promiscuity are bad,  Plato's side of the argument goes on to encourage the scrapping of books like The Illiad altogether as books used in education.   If you ever read stories from the Bible you will find that often there are bad things that happen. The writer's however, do not cut these out, but leave them in as examples of how NOT to behave!

     If we look at style we see that Homer is a writer of epic poetry. Tales that tell a really good story with morals included. We learn from the facts presented and draw the pre-determined conclusions. This style is  bit different from Plato's however, as he uses the Socratic Method, named after his teacher, Socrates.  This method is all about asking the student questions and over a period of time challenging their very views by allowing them to reach conclusions on their own. A.k.a. not being directly told all of the answers.

While Greeks love their Plato and Homer, most Americans prefer Play-Doh and the philosophy of Homey the Clown. What "Homey don't play that!"

This leads us to the end of this entry. Should we teach in stories like the days of old, or should we guard what is taught, and teach the students to think Socratically?  Alternatively, maybe there is a middle of the road route.....What do you think?
     
-Jason