May 20 The Philosophy of Calvin & Hobbes
If that sounds like a class you’d like to take, you’re not alone. For the lucky students at Mysa, The Philosophy of Calvin and Hobbes is one of their spring electives.
The class introduces students to great philosophers by asking big questions about the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson. (Did you know that the strip is named after philosophers John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes?) Starting with a discussion of whether or not Hobbes is real, the students began exploring the philosophical definitions of reality provided by Descartes, Spinoza, Berkeley, Kant and Hegel.
After an in-depth, philosophical discussion, the students head outside for an adventure inspired by the strip. One student, for example, played a nice round of Calvinball – a perfect way to get kids moving during the lockdown.
One student submitted these pictures without any explanation.
These served as inspiration for another student’s final project:
Read more about interdisciplinary learning at Mysa here.