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Lynn, Karen
Teacher Use of Primary and Secondary Philosophical
Thought to Motivate and Enlighten Peers and
Students.
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15p.
Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.)
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Elementary Secondary Education; Social Studies;
^''Teaching Methods
^Quotations
ABSTRACT
This document is a collection of quotations that have
been used by the instructor to motivate audiences and stimulate
discussion. It is suggested that classroom teachers might find these
quotations useful. The quotations are organized into the following
categories: Africa, Apache, Arabian proverb, Bible, China, economics,
history, political science, research, and sociology. (DB)
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* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
* from the original document. *
00
^ TEACHER USE OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY PHILOSOPHICAL
^ THOUGHT TO MOTIVATE AND ENLIGHTEN PEERS AND STUDENTS
Q
by
Dr. Karen Lynn
9025#D Thamesmeade Road
Laurel, Maryland 20723
301-776-8037
O
U.S. OC^ABTMCNT OF EDUCATION
Ofltcc <y Eduaitional Ratearch and Improvemcr.t
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
This document has b«en reproduceil is
Teceived from ihe person ot ofgamzation
f onginatmo i(
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a Points ot view or opinions stated m this docu-
ment do not necessarily represent official
OERl position or poliCy
"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS
GRANTED BY
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Abstract
The following is a collection of thoughts, both known and unknown
sources, which have been used by this author to motivate an audience,
be that audience a classroom of students or a gathering of profes-
sionals, with the ultimate goals twofold: to direct attention to
the speaker and to stimulate discussion.
Philosophical thoughts are actively involved in the study of the
social sciences. Teachers who are using strategies which are
interesting, concrete, and related to the lives of their audience,
will incorporated philosophical thought. Teachers can build upon
an audience's curiosity about themselves and their environment,
presenting thought as dramatic reflections of personalities in
the past and present who helped shaped culture and personal identi-
ties. Teachers guide their audience toward the examination of
cultural periods through the discussion of both folk and pro-
fessional characterization of these periods. The audience can
understand the way people saw themselves, their ideas and values,
their fears and dreams, and the ways they interpreted their own
times .
For practical application, this collection can also be used
as "warm-up" for the speech maker and as "thoughts of the day"
for the social studies classroom, secondary through college
levels .
Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682) : We carry with us the wonders
we seek without us: There is all Africa and her prodigies
in us •
Graham Greene : In his book, Journey Without Maps , Greene
recounts the case of the 1928 presidential election of Liberia,
in which the president, Charles D.B. King, was returned to
office with an officially announced majority over his opponent
(Thomas J. Faulkner of the People's Party) of 600,000 votes."
The total electorate at the time was less than 15,000.
(Guinness)
George H.T. Kimble : The darkest thing about Africa has
always been our ignorance of it.
Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) : There is always something new
out of Africa.
Senegalese proverb : Your ears are older than you are.
(Refers to oral tradition^
Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) : Africa for the Africans means
Africa for the Africans and not Africa as a hunting ground
for alien ambitions.
Jonathan Swift : So Geographers, in Afric maps.
With savage pictures fill their gaps.
And o'er unhabitable downs
Place elephants for want of towns.
Janet L. Stanley : . . .the image is always subjective. It
reflects the imagemaker's point of view, his bias, his
hidden (or not so hidden) agenda in what is portrayed and
how it is depicted, although we may not always be aware that
this is so.
2
APACHE : And now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be
shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for
each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is
no more loneliness. Now you are two persons, but there
is only one life before you. Go now to your dwelling
place to enter into the days of your life together. And
may your days be good and long upon the earth.
ARABIAN PROVERB: A friend is one to whom one may pour all the
contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, know-
ing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it,
keep what is worth keeping and with the breath of kind-
ness blow the rest away.
BIBLE : (Ecclesiates 9:7) : Go eat your bread in gladness and
drink your wine in joy. Enjoy life with the person you
love all the days that have been granted you under the
sun.
CHINA : We have read your manuscript with boundless delight.
If we were to publish your paper it would be impossi-
ble for us to publish any v;ork of a lower standard.
And as it is unthinkable that, in the next thousand
years, we shall see its equal, we are, to our regret,
compelled to return your divine composition, and beg
you a thousand times to overlook our short sight and
timidity . (unknown source)
One tear met another tear floating down the river.
Said the first tear, *'l am the tear of the woman who
lost her lover." The other tear replied, "And I am
the tear of the woman who got him." (unknown source)
erJc 5
3
ECONOMICS :
Malcolm Forbes : When the joy of the job*s gone, when
it's no fun trying anymore, quit before you're fired.
Security isn't securities. It's knowing that someone
cares whe ther you are or cease to be.
Ripley ' s : The income of a woman (US) compared to a man's
has changed little in 46 years. . .in 1939 she earned
63(? to his dollar in 1985 she made only more^
Russian proverb : When money speaks, the truth keeps
silent .
For he is not poor who has little; only he that desires
much . . . and true security lies not in the things one
has but in the things one can do without, (unknown source)
The grass is always greener on the other side, but, that
too, needs to be mowed, (unknown source)
HISTORY :
Marie Antoinette : There is nothing new except what has
been forgotten.
George Gerbner : If you can control the storytelling
of a nation, you don't have to worry about who makes
the laws.
Plato : Those who tell the stories also rule society.
Jonathan Swift : We have just enough religion to make
hate, but not enough to make us love one another.
POLITICAL SCIENCE :
Charles de Gaulle : In order to become the master, the
politician poses as the servant .
6
Thomas Jefferson : Whenever a man has cast a longing
eye on off ices, a rottenness begins in his conduct .
President Macapgal : I have sat at the sumptuous tables
of power, but I have not run away with the silverware.
(November 25, 1961)
Malcolm X (1925-1965) : You're not supposed to be so
blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong
is wrong no matter who does it or says it.
H.L. Mencken : A good politician is quite as unthinkable
as an honest burglar.
Tony Morrison : ...the function of freedom is to free
somebody else.
Changampugha Krishna Pillai (Malaysia) : A sincere heart
in an insincere world is the reason of my failure.
FDR : The test of our progress is not whether we add
more to the abundance of those who have much; it is
whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
A politician is someone who takes money from the rich
and votes from the poor and promises each protection
from the other, (unknown source)
How come that in the "underdeveloped countries" they
sleep in open huts, while in the "developed countries"
we have to bolt our doors and grate our windows?
(unknown source)
It would be useless to bomb Washington. If you destroy
one building, they already have two other buildings
completely staffed with people doing exactly the same
thing, (unknown source)
In America, our ears are very young. To survive in today's
global environment, we need to hear voices other than
our own. If you listen closely, you might hear them
right across the street. (unknown source)
Show the world. Strive not to walk as your brother walks,
nor talk as your leader talks, nor labor as do the medio-
cre. Never do as another. Never imitate. For how do you
know that you may not imitate evil; and he who imitates
evil always goes beyond the example set, while he who
imitates what is good always falls short. Imitate no one.
3e yourself, (unknown source)
Wouldn't you like to live in a world where no one wants
to be rich and no one is poor? (unknown source)
RESEARCH :
Dr. VJayne Dyer ( The Sky's the Limit ) : If all people are
unique, and if they are constantly changing each and
every day, then all one can say about any social-research
finding is that it applied to that group of people on
that given day, and given the propensity of humans to
be different and to change, then it is unlikely that
one would get the same results if one were to repeat the
study.
SOCIOLOGY :
Addison : The grand essentials
to happiness are
something to do. . .
something to love. . .
and something to hope for.
6
Dr« Smiley Blanton : . . .one of the most helpless and
hopeless diseases known to man '*if only**.
P.G« Boyle ( Planning Better Programs ) : Most human beings
need a feeling that they are accomplishing something worth-
while .
Dr. Preston Bradley (Pastor-emeritus of Peoples Church of
Chicago) : 1) Does the course of action you plan to follow
seem logical and reasonable? Never mind what anyone else
has to say. Does it make sense to you? If it does, it is
probably right. 2) Does it pass the test of sportsmanship?
In other words, if everyone followed this same course of
action, would the results be beneficial for all? 3) Where
will your plan of action lead? How will it affect others?
What will it do to you? 4) Will you think well of yourself
when you look back at what you have done? 5) Try to separate
yourself from the problem. Pretend, for one moment, it is
the problem of the person you most admire. Ask yourself how
that person would handle it. 6) Hold up the final decision
to glaring light of publicity. Would you want your family
and friends to know what you have done? The decisions we
make in the hope that no one will find out are usually
wrong .
Kenneth H. Cooper, MD : Whether you live one day longer is
really not the ultimate goal. What is important is the
quality of yourlife a life that is happy, healthy, and
productive .
Dr* Denzil Edge (University of Louisville) : It is rather
ironic that professionals who individualize for children
ERLC
often do not individualize for parents. Often programs are
designed with a particular philosophy in mind such as behavior
management or effectiveness training and offered to all
parents rather than analyzing specific needs the parents
may have.
Emerson (US essayist, 1803-82) : Make the most of yourself,
for that is all there is to you.
Bobby HcFerrin (song) : Here's a little song I wrote/You
might want to sing it note for note/Don't worry, be happy/
In every life we have some trouble/When you worry you make it
double/Don't worry, be happy/Ain't got no place to lay your
head?/Somebody came and took you bed?/Don't worry, be happy/
The landlord says your rent is late/He may have to litigate/
Don't worry, be happy/I give you my phone when you worry,
call me, I make you happy/Don't worry, be happy/Cause when
you worry your face will frown/and that will bring everybody
down so/Don't worry, be happy.
Jane Harmon ; Four-year old looking in bookstore window:
"What are those. Mommy?" Mommy: "Those are called books,
honey. That's what they make the movies on tv from."
Arthur J. Hilly (Hilly and Hilly Associates Inc.) : The
decision, of course, is up to you but you might keep in
mind that like many other decisions in life, it is usually
easier to obtain forgiveness than to obtain permission.
Homer : There is nothing more admirable than when two people
who see eye to eye keep house as husband and wife, confounding
their enemies and delighting their friends, as they themselves
know best.
Jesse Jackson ( Ebony , August 1978) : We are behind in a
race and the only way to catch up is to run faster. If the
New Generation is to close the gap and catch up, they must
do so by disciplining their appetites, engaging in ethical
conduct and developing their minds. A steady diet of violence,
vandalism, drugs, irresponsible sexual conduct, alcohol and
tv addiction has bred a passive, alienated, and superficial
generation. The challenge is to close the gap, and decadence
diverts one from the goal of catching up.
Morally weak people not only inhibit their own personal
growth but finally contribute to the politics of decadence. . .
A generation of people lacking the moral and physical stamina
necessary to fight a protracted civilizational crisis is
dangerous to itself, its neighbors and to future generations.
We need a sober, sane, disciplined army to catch up.
Helen Keller : Life is either daring adventure or nothing.
Lynn L > (Ann Landers) : All of^|et to feeling too mighty
and too important at times. Here is a humbling truth that
should help keep things in proper perspective: Man, despite
his pretensions, sophistication and myriad accomplishments,
owes his existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the
fact that it rains.
Samuel Johnson : Go into the street, and give one man a
lecture on morality, and another a shilling, and see which
will respect you most.
M ontaigne (French essayist, 1533-92) : We are all made up
fragments, so shapelessly and strangely assembled that every
moment, every piece plays its own game. And there is as
much difference between us and ourselves as between us and
li
others .
Judee A. Pouncey : If it's to be, it's up to me!
Dr. William Nolen ( Crisis Time! Love, Marriage and the Male
at Mid-Life ) : The man resists admi tting that there ' s anything
the matter with him. If you tell a woman what's the matter
with her, she will do what she has to do to get better. But
a man will lie to you about his symptoms because he doesn't
want to admit there's anything the matter with him.
J>A.R . (Ann Landers) : Human males have been having sex with
just about any animal that would hold still long enough, or
could be beaten into submission.
As you said, animal genes and human genes will not "mix"
and it's a good thing. If they did, half the world population
would consist of half goat, half fish, half horse, half cow,
half pig, half dog, and probably half fencepost.
Carl Sagan : I look into my daughter's eyes and ask myself
what kind of future we are preparing for our children. We
have offered them visions of a future in which unable to
read, to think, to invent, to compete, to make things work,
to anticipate events our nation sinks into lethargy and
economic decay; in which ignorance and greed conspire to de-
stroy the air, the water, the soil and the climate; in which
we permit a nuclear holocaust.
Our children long for realistic maps of a future they (and
we) can be proud of. Where are the cartographers of human
purpose?
Tampa Tribune (May 18, 1987) : Ashley died in 1873 and shortly
thereafter his black servant Nancy also died and was buried
10
next to him.
John Jackson, who was executor of Ashley's estate, erected
the tombstone that reads, "Here lie William Ashley and Nancy
Ashley, Master and Servant; faithful to each other in that
relation in life, in death they are not separated. Strangers
consider and be wise in the grave all human distinctions
of race or color mingle together in one common dust."
J. London and R. Wenkert : . . . adult teachers and adminis-
trators have a responsibility to broaden the concerns of
participants so as to encourcge a deeper commitm.ent to lib-
eralizing educational experiences. One has a responsibility
to individuals and the society to help them get what they
need to fully realize their potential.
Zhang Xianlians : A woman is the most loveable thing on earth,
but there is something that is more important • Women will
never possess the men they have created.
I would never again be vulnerable to that humiliation and
pain, but I would also never again know such Happiness.
If you want to be at peace, then you must abandon yourself
to the world. You must not fight it or try to control it.
You must throw yourself into the world as it is created
day by day: in that creation is the Way.
Civilized lies not in directing, but in explaining a man's
behaviour .
i 0
Choose to love. . .rather than hate.
Choose to laugh. . .rather than cry.
Choose to create. . .rather than destroy.
Choose to persevere. . .rather than quit.
Choose to praise. . .rather than gossip.
Choose to heal. . .rather than wound.
Choose to give. . .rather than steal.
Choose to act. . .rather than procrastinate.
Choose to grow. . .rather than rot.
Choose to pray. . .rather than curse.
Choose to live. . .rather than die. (unknown source)
Comes the Dawn
After awhile you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't mean security,
And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises.
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open.
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child,
And learn to build all your roads
On today because tomorrow's ground
Is too uncertain for plans, and futures have
A way of falling down in mid-flight.
After awhile you learn that even sunshine
Burns if get too much.
So plant your own garden and decorate
Your own soul, instead of waiting
For someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure. . .
That you really are strong
And you really do have worth.
And you learn and learn. . .
With every goodbye you learn. (unknown source)
Dining partners, regardless of gender, social standing,
or the years they've lived, should be chosen for their ability
to eat and drink! — with the right mixture of abandon
and restraint.
They should be able, no, eager, to sit for hours three,
four, six over a meal of soup and wine and cheese, as
well as one of 20 fabulous courses.
Then, with good friends of such attributes, and good food
on the board, and good wine in the pitcher, we may well ask.
When shall we live if not now? (unknown source)
"Do you know what the really big word is, Helen?" Elsa asks.
"I had it all wrong. Like most people, I suppose I used to think
it was 'love'. ". . .But there's an even bigger one. 'Trust'."
(unknown source)
Today was fine. I didn't let anything bother me. And to-
morrow will be even better! (unknown source)
Why should men despair that some are granted more than their
allotted three score and ten years? It is better to live one
year fully than to vegetate for fifty years, (unknown source)
EMC
