[Philosophy] New to Units 1, 3 & 4

[Ian Wilmoth]

Thanks, Richard, for adding me to the list.

I was on the point asking about how to tackle Year 12 Philosophy.  Your comments on areas needing attention has solved some of my questions - it's not just me struggling with the structure of the course.  

Although I have never studied philosophy and it is my first year teaching, I feel up to the challenge - perhaps I am mad also - of taking on units 1 and 3 & 4.  3 & 4 have not been taught at the school before.  My main concern is that the material is quite dense for the students, who have asked me  to make summaries of the texts.  I have refused both because I am under the pump to keep ahead of them myself, but I also think they need to get into the texts themselves.  (I agree with all the comments so far about the course being too focussed on the original texts and the need for a text book - but as I'm such a newcomer please take my comments with the greenness from which they come.)

So my question really is "How do we make the texts more accessible for them?"  Does anyone have some resources, games, activities etc that can break the lessons up for them?  We tend to read some, discuss some but some students are struggling with the language and concepts in the texts.  I know there is no Year 12 Philosophy text for dummies that the students can read, but I am hoping there is something that can help them.  They have mostly all done Unit 1, but that seems to help them little when it comes to making sense of Plato and Aristotle.

Any help would be immensely appreciated.

Cheers,

Ian.

Ian Wilmoth

ian at ianwilmoth.com
0407 819177