[Lecture Three] Philosophy of Education
by Dr. Leonard Peikoff
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Course summary: In this lecture series, Dr. Leonard Peikoff explores the nature of education, why contemporary schools do not achieve it, and what the proper basis is. In it, he discusses why education must be conceptual, the principles of proper instruction, and the essential content of a proper education. Read more »
In this lecture: This lecture concludes Dr. Peikoff’s explanation of the essential components of proper teaching methodology. He focuses on how sequence and structure function in teaching and provides examples of how this works.
Study Guide
This material is designed to help you digest the lecture content. You can also download below a PDF study guide for the entire course.
| Why must education have a structure imposed by the teacher? |
| Should student interest in a topic guide his learning of that topic? |
| Where should the logical sequence of a topic be used in structuring instructional material? |
| How does reducing the units of instruction help to essentialize information? |
| When is optionality possible in choosing a structure for presentation of material? |
Q&A Guide
Below is a list of questions from the audience taken from this lecture, along with (approximate) time stamps.
| 1:08:20 | I see a young Leonardo da Vinci, aged 6–8, looking out the window at a class of birds in flight. The teacher comes up to him and raps his knuckles and says “I don’t care if you’re Leonardo da Vinci, turn around and do your multiplication tables.” You advocate a highly directive form of education. Wouldn’t that destroy the budding genius who needs to be left on his own? |
| 1:11:15 | If you were going to teach Leonardo da Vinci, shouldn’t you “gently tell him” the value of what you’re teaching rather than “force him” to do so? |
| 1:12:48 | Is it appropriate to ask about proper testing methods? |
| 1:16:18 | What is an autodidact and was Ayn Rand one? |
| 1:18:46 | How much certainty should a student feel inasmuch as he doesn’t know everything and he’ll be more certain later? |
| 1:19:51 | Is it good to show kids the evening news since their context is not developed and you can’t just turn it off? |
| 1:21:57 | You said you should keep the material to 3–5 units, and yet you gave a 12-lecture course. Aren’t you refuting yourself? |
| 1:23:56 | What do you think of the Montessori method? |
| 1:24:12 | What is the principle involved in saying that something is or isn’t optional? |
| 1:28:38 | Why don’t you give written exams at the Jefferson School, since they are a valuable part of the students’ learning experience? |