Course Profile - Curriculum Services Canada

Course Notes
Challenges of the Course
Philosophy: The Big Questions is of considerable relevance to all students regardless of ethnic or
religious background, academic capabilities, or career goals because it applies creative and criticalthinking
tools to fundamental questions about human nature; personal and social responsibilities; good
and evil; the nature of human knowledge; social justice; how science, art, and religion are related; and
other such issues. Philosophy trains students in critical and logical thinking, writing, and oral
communication and acquaints them with principles underlying their own values and beliefs as well as
those of others. Because of its relationship to fundamental issues affecting us all, philosophy has the
potential to engage and enthrall all learners. For all students, philosophy can be a fun and worthwhile
course for the following reasons.
• Students are able to apply metacognitive skills to explore their own beliefs and values.
• Students are able to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways, applying their dominant
intelligences to creatively explore meaning.
• Students develop critical and logical thinking skills in reading, writing, and oral communication,
allowing them to challenge existing ideas and integrate personally meaningful ideas into their own
experiences.
Grade 11 Philosophy lays important foundations for students wishing to pursue Grade 12 Philosophy.
The skills focus in Grade 11 is on classifying ideas (compare, contrast, strengths, weaknesses), with an
emphasis on summarizing information and only a limited amount of higher order thinking, such as
evaluating and defending ideas. This serves the needs of all students as it assists them in developing the
skills needed to read for meaning, define terms, and classify ideas. Whether heading into the workplace
after Grade 12 or to college or university, students will find these skills useful.
Philosophy: The Big Questions poses two significant yet potentially rewarding challenges to teachers.
The first is that of introducing students to the often abstract study of philosophy. For most students, the
study of philosophy is unlike anything else they have ever studied. Most often, by the time students reach
Grade 11 they have grown accustomed to responding to questions for which they believe there are correct
and incorrect answers. Seldom have they been encouraged to raise questions that have no easy answers or
challenge the answers of others. Thus philosophy opens new doors and introduces new challenges.
Among these challenges are the abilities to develop coherent, logical arguments and to critique the
answers of others rather than to blindly accept someone else’s point of view. In part, this challenge is
made easier by teenagers’ natural search for a personal identity and their subsequent desire to challenge
authority and stake out and test their own values and beliefs. Teachers can take advantage of this
blossoming intellectual curiosity by tapping into issues relevant to the lives of students. The six questions
which drive this course can easily provide a connection to students’ lives and the study of philosophy.
The second and perhaps more difficult challenge posed by this course is the range of student that it could
potentially draw. Essentially, the course needs to serve two distinct functions: prepare some students for
future studies in philosophy while providing other students with a worthwhile introduction to philosophy
in which they can experience success and derive some significant life-long learning.
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• Philosophy: The Big Questions - Open