| Advocating progressive values and equality for humanists, atheists, and freethinkers |
|
| Advocating progressive values and equality for humanists, atheists, and freethinkers |
|
The resources from The Teachers' Press are literally a gold-mine for humanist education programs for high school students as well as college students and adults of all ages.
The Teachers' Press is a venture by career instructors from two retired teachers in Illinois. Their materials evolved through years of interaction with students in academically-oriented, non-tracked classes. Collaborators since the 1960s, the units were developed and revised in the classroom by Brant W. Abrahamson and Fred C. Smith of Riverside-Brookfield High School in the near western suburbs of Chicago. Abrahamson was selected as an Illinois Master Teacher in 1986. He received his MA degree in Political Science from the University of Iowa after doing his undergraduate work at Augustana College. Smith's degrees are from the University of Chicago and Northern Illinois University. Both are active members of the Humanists of West Chicagoland in Naperville, Illinois.
The Golden Rule lesson that is briefly described below is free upon an e-mail request to teacherspr@aol.com. (Please include a postal address.) The units listed after this free lesson are available through TeachersPayTeachers.com .
Golden Rule -- Basis for Morality and Ethics
The 15-page booklet consists of a 3-part student reading and teacher's manual. The Golden Rule is described as a nearly universal moral/ethical standard. A brief history of the Rule is followed by a description of when it became called "The Golden Rule." The manual compares the Golden Rule with the Ten Commandments and includes projects for students along with discussion and multiple-choice questions.
Note: A comprehensive description of this resource can be found at:
It includes lesson plan ideas, a brief overview of the content, objectives and suggested procedures.
Thinking Logically A Study of Common Fallacies
This is a study of thirteen mental errors that students learn to avoid as they discuss or write about important issues. Each of these thinking problems is defined, described and illustrated. Students are given "Questions to Ask" themselves so that the fallacies can be avoided. The Teacher's Manual includes multiple activities, exercises and quizzes that the authors developed over a two decade period of high school teaching.
Thinking About Religion
Young adults learn to put their beliefs into a broad cultural perspective as they consider "The Religious View of Life," "New Religions," "Religion and Morality," Religion and Science," and "Religion and Human Life." Additional readings are on religious change and faith systems that originated in Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Thinking About the Mysterious
Students focus on occultist and psychic subterfuge in this 3-week study. Presumed "unnatural forces" are demystified as students learn to perform the same tricks that charlatans often use. The instructional kit has factual data on a wide variety of pseudo-scientific practices such as astrology and
palm reading.
History of the Hebrew Bible Current Academic Understandings
The Old Testament is traced from its origins -- often in oral tradition --through multiple centuries of development to the biblical texts that are used today. The 13 lessons are arranged chronologically and are based on present-day historical and archaeological understandings.
Prejudice in Group Relations
A 3-week unit includes these lesson titles: "How Persons are Grouped," "Prejudice, An Overview," "Prejudice a Dissection," "Effects of Prejudice," and "Taking a Stand." It was developed for use at Riverside-Brookfield High School, Riverside, Illinois and is based on the sociological and psychological findings of scholars such as Gordon Allport.
The Family A Study of Group Living
After a section on kinds of family structures, the focus is on maintaining durable families. A study of "Compatible Partners" follows a chapter called "Kinds of Love." Here teenagers learn what people may mean when they say, "I love you" as well as what they will need to learn to raise children successfully.
For additional teaching resources, see Lessons from The Teachers' Press in Category A. 2.1 in "Curriculum Resources for the Life Span".
If you need more information, contact Mr. Brant W. Abrahamson by e-mail at: teacherspr@aol.com -- or write to The Teachers Press, 3731 Madison Ave.
Brookfield, IL 60513-1559. Phone: (708) 485-5983
The following two teaching resources developed by Brant Abrahamson and Fred Smith also are appropriate for humanist students who should know about the contents of the Bible. The materials should, of course, be presented from an academic, not a proselytizing, perspective.
The topics and readings focus on receiving the commandments; YHWH's (Yahweh's) commandments in Exodus; the commandment story changes; preserving the commandments; Moses once more returns to Mt. Sinai; Moses goes up the mountain one more time; making sense of the Bible, Moses and the Decalogue; reviewing Exodus; thinking about the Commandment stories; and thinking about current day commandments.
The topics and reading focus on the Ark's construction; housing the Ark at Mount Sinai; traveling with the Ark; invading Canaan; what happened to the Ark; battling with Philistines; the Ark during the time of Kings David and Solomon; the Ark stories in Chronicles, in the Catholic Bible, in the New Testament; and thinking about the Biblical Ark Stories (activities, research, and - most importantly - thinking!)
This paper by Dr. Steven Schafersman of Midland, Texas presents a number of highly insightful ideas about critical thinking. For example, he outlined the components of critical thinking (24 of them) and suggestions for teaching critical thinking. He also developed an extensive comparison of various dimensions of critical or scientific thinking and uncritical or non-scientific thinking. His concluding statement is: "Humanism is one of the few philosophies if life that encourages - in fact, demands critical thinking and the scientific method in the human quest for truth. Bigotry and pseudoscience could be avoided if humans would learn and practice critical thinking. This can only come about by better education." The essay is available at "FREE INQUIRY: The Humanist and Skeptic Website of Steven Schafersman" -- www.freeinquiry.com
In a related essay, "A Guide to Critical Thinking", Dr. Schafersman discusses the purposes and rationale of teaching critical thinking, the relation of critical thinking to the scientific method, formal critical thinking programs and -- of great interest to teachers at all levels -- places in the curriculum and school environment where critical thinking can be taught as well as strategies and classroom techniques.
But don't stop at these two papers for as you explore Dr. Schafersman's website, you will find essays on many topics related to freethinking and scientific and critical inquiry. Also see his 1991 essay, "Teaching Morals and Values in the Public Schools: A Humanist Perspective." His essay, "How Do Humanists Find Meaning, Purpose, Values and Morals in Life" is cited in Section B. 1.4 in "Curriculum Resources for the Life Span."
There are a wealth of resources to be found on the Internet when you look for either “philosophy for kids” or “philosophy for children.” So look for both. Although the approaches vary, both strategies aim to teach reasoning skills to children. The Wikipedia encyclopedia discusses two variations as well as the different approaches by two of the leading proponents: (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_for_Children)
Gareth Matthews method is to get the students to actively create philosophical settings and “make the philosophical problem their own.” One techniques is to provide the beginning of a philosophically provocative story. He then records/transcribes student comments, puts them in the mouths of characters in the story, and then brings the story continuation in to the next class session for further discussion. Such interactions are compiled in his book Dialogues With Children. (www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/MATDIA.html)
Matthew Lipman's style is more guided than Matthews's open-ended interaction with students. Lipman believes that we must start teaching philosophy early lest older teens and young adults permanently lose their native curiosity and philosophical skills. He strongly feels that college is too late for anyone's first introduction to critical thinking. Lipman advocates integration of philosophy into the K-12 curriculum. He provides complete stories which address clearly defined philosophical problems in which character dialogue reveals the main philosophical issues and stories are used as a basis for discussion. Because his books have companion teacher’s manuals, they can be a good starting point for teachers, e.g., Harry Stottlemeier’s Discovery. (See Teaching Children Philosophical Thinking: An Introduction to the Teacher's Manual for "Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery)
Here are two important links to explore:The Center for Inquiry Institute offers undergraduate level summer school, seminars, and workshops in critical thinking and the scientific outlook and its implications for religion, human values, and science. In addition to transferable undergraduate credit through the State University of New York system, CFI offers a 30 credit hour Certificate of Proficiency in Critical Inquiry. This three-year curriculum offers summer sessions at the main campus at SUNY-Buffalo in Amherst and the Skeptic's Toolbox workshop at the University of Oregon, Eugene.
In addition, the Center and Committee for Skeptical Inquiry's Inquiring Minds program have sponsored trial programs to teach critical thinking for children, developed classroom curricular material and resources for educators, and are currently working on informal educational initiatives with museums, science centers, and community groups. The Council for Secular Humanism's Secular Family Network provides additional support and program development for parents and children and publishes a newsletter entitled "Family Matters." For additional information: www.centerforinquiry.net/
One of the most thorough analyses of issues relating to Critical Thinking has been developed by Amy Birtcher of the Humanist Community of Central Ohio that addresses such questions as -- What is it? Why do we need it? and How do we do it? (Please contact Amy to receive an e-mail file of the 46 slides – abirtcher@gmail.com.) Here is a brief overview of the major topics:
-- Definitions of critical thinking (Francis Bacon's and a more modern one)
-- Why is critical thinking necessary or desirable?
-- Characteristics of a well-cultivated thinker
-- The importance of language --- words, statement and arguments – (Also see
www.criticalthinking.org)
-- Circular reasoning, e.g., "It's immoral because it's not right."
-- Begging the question. i.e., You assume the very thing that needs to be proved.
-- The burden of proof lies with the person making the claim
-- Occam's razor – the simplest explanation which covers all the facts is preferable to more complicated explanations
-- Arguments by definition, e.g., Real Americans support the President (impossible to define "real American")
-- Gambler's Fallacy – past practice doesn't affect future probability
-- Avoid strawman arguments, i.e., putting words in one's mouth and then attacking them for those words
-- Some "tips" to keep in mind as you try to discuss ideas with others:
| Don't be afraid to say you don't know something. |
| Don't feel you have to have an immediate response or answer. |
| Read the item in question before you try to critique it. |
| Try to establish a level playing field. |
| Expect others to read and be prepared too. |
| Don't allow someone else to monopolize the conversation. |
| Break things down point by point into simple bites to deal with. |
| When someone makes a claim, ask questions that force them to explain and justify their statements. |
| Avoid using absolute phrases like ALL, ALWAYS, EVERYONE. |
| Remember that fast answers and emotional manipulation are all around us – don't let yourself fall prey to them. |
| Avoid using emotionally manipulative terms, e.g., "If you'd just be honest with yourself, you'd realize…" "We all know that…" "Only an idiot would believe…" |
| Just because someone claims something in an authoritative voice doesn't mean it's true – don't be cowed; check independent sources for verification. |
| Just because something is in print, that doesn't make it true or accurate. |
| Verify your sources and demand that others verify theirs as well. |
| Beware of vested interests. |
| Does the person you are talking to want something from you? Are they manipulating you? Stay on task! Remain calm. |
| Don't change the subject and don't let others do so either, especially when they are losing! |
| Realize that humans have an emotional need for certainty. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
