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Gazette Januar y 2021
AC A DE M IC E XC E L L E NC E
The Big Questions How can we know our lives have meaning/purpose? What is knowledge? Are human rights universal? Am I real? What is beauty?
These are just some of the big questions Year 9 and 10 Philosophy students have enjoyed tackling this year. As we complete the second year of Philosophy classes at King’s, it provides a great opportunity to reflect on how the new elective course has grown. Across Years 9-10 we have had 40 students engaging in Philosophy lessons, with the numbers set to grow to close to 50 in 2021. The Philosophy elective was introduced to the School in 2019 and has proved very popular with students. “Philosophy has provided me with a wealth of knowledge and a critical thinking capacity that is indispensable for success in one’s academic life at King’s,” says Year 10 student, Angus Williams. Students have also found that the lessons are different, both in structure and content. “They allow for more discussion and deep thinking. Learning in Philosophy, you listen to other classmates’ ideas and incorporate those whilst building your own, rather than only having one correct answer,” said Wilbur Blaxland (Year 10). The aim of Philosophy in Schools is to create a Community of Inquiry (COI) where collaborative inquiry based teaching and learning transforms the way that students learn and the manner in which they relate to one another. Such a classroom fosters critical, creative and caring thinking by means of structured class and small group discussions. (Cam, 2020). “I’ve always found the COI experiences to be the
