Systematized education, pre-pandemic, tended to operate with a simple mindset: deliver course information as quickly as possible.
The pandemic only increased that: with the decrease in in-person school hours last year and this, many teachers (and many administrators) feel it necessary to double the pace to make sure all course information is delivered.
But I don’t feel that any amount of information is worth eliminating a pause for philosophy. Forget the idea of philosophy as an esoteric, irrelevant subject. Philosophy, as I think about it in class, means to think about thinking – to think about why we’re learning these things, what value they will provide beyond this class, and who we want to be as human beings.
Answering these fundamental questions is of tremendous value to a class of learners, because when everyone has arrived at their own answers, the hunger for learning can increase. If you don’t know your why, what, and who, how can you possibly be engaged in the what and when of history, language, mathematics, music, or any other subject.
Put another way: have a reason to learn something, and you will learn way faster. “We must deliver this course information” isn’t a reason to learn.