On Dialogue in Pedagogy

One out of a few indirect messages in Culture vs. Copyright is about a school for the near future (which, of course, could very well be a school of the present but, alas, has not been implemented as of yet). Here is an excerpt from the Preface:

Version II, Somewhat Fictitious

It all started accidentally. I was talking to colleagues and happened to mention an educational experiment I had participated in, in the past. It was related to the School of The Dialogue of Cultures (SDC). The theory of SDC has been developed cooperatively among philosophers, scientists, and educators in the Ukraine and Russia. The foundation of that School’s educational process is dialogue and is comprised of at least two elements. First, a subject is presented to the students not as the firm and absolute truth but as a source of questions. Second, teaching is not done in the traditional manner but organized through dialogue and exploration. These ideas may sound pretty casual to the modern ear, but when specifics were considered the theory and practice of SDC appeared rather unique, effective, and appealing to my colleagues. They were intrigued by experiments I described. For instance, I told a story of first graders enthusiastically debating the human soul with Plato and Aristotle . . .

That was, evidently, direct reference to a possible new school. Indirect one is embodied in a large part of the book composed as dialogues among first graders. These dialogues show how is teaching supposed to be conducted. If you happen to read the book pay close attention to what the Teacher does there. It is not totally fictional!

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