In this class on the philosophy of Ancient China, your child will learn about the life and work of Confucius, China’s most famous philosopher and one of the most well known thinkers in world history. Confucius’ philosophy has survived in China for over 2500 years and is still very important to Chinese culture as well as to other cultures abroad. I first teach students about the life and work of Confucius. Afterwards, I will teach students several “aphorisms” (short sayings that embody truths) found in a collection of writings called The Analects, which is attributed to Confucius and his followers. These sayings are not difficult to understand and children find them interesting because they encompass basic ideas about how to live life. Students will discuss these sayings, engaging with the philosopher’s ideas, and are free to agree or disagree with the teachings. No knowledge of China, Chinese, or world history is necessary. With this lesson, my teaching style is to get students to think about the ideas of Confucius by talking about them. By the end of the class, students will have used the philosophical tool of dialogue while learning about philosophy. I will also show artwork from Ancient China, as well as maps of China and other images.

(Image for course: by "File:Statue de Confucius au Temple de Confucius de Pékin.jpg" by Laurent Bélanger is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)