Above: Philosophy lecturer Harry Klomp visited the Gleneagles Campus of Eumemmerring Secondary College on Monday to promote higher thinking skills among students.
GLENEAGLES Campus of Eumemmerring College hosted a high-achievers’ day on Monday, when all students from the high-achievers program gathered for an introduction to philosophy by Harry Klomp.
Students selected to participate in the Eumemmerring College high-achievers program at the school’s various campuses demonstrate academic skills beyond that of their peers.
The program provides a comprehensive curriculum to enrich, engage and develop the higher-level thinking skills of students.
The high-achievers day gave students the opportunity to exercise their higher thinking skills through philosophical inquiry as they learned about knowledge, facts, bias, truth and evidence.
From these understandings they were guided towards solving historical philosophical problems.
Philosophy encourages students to investigate big questions such as the meaning of life, God and existence. Mr Klomp, who holds a Master’s degree in philosophy and linguistics, engaged the students by encouraging their questioning skills, giving them confidence to explore their ideas and existing theories while equipping them with the formal language skills expected of university students to express their views.
The event also provided students from the three years 7-10 campuses of the college a valuable opportunity to interact with peers on issues beyond a classroom environment.
Gleneagles teacher Debra Gaudion said the day was a great success as it enhanced students’ ability to work with more abstract concepts and encourage effective problem-olving using higher thinking.
