THE BIG IDEA OF COMMUNICATION
We all have ideas, but when we tell other people about those ideas we need to help them understand what we mean. This isn’t always easy, especially when your ideas are completely and utterly brilliant!
So, here we’re going to think about what happens when we communicate with each other in our everyday lives…
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LET’S GET OUR THINKING CAPS ON OUR BRILLIANT BRAINS.
It’s our brains that come up with ideas.
Some of these ideas our brains forget quickly, but when we have a great idea we remember it, and want to communicate it with other people.
Write down how you communicate your ideas here >>>
And complete the ‘Show and Tell’ quiz below …
Communicating is about ‘telling’, We can also communicate by ‘showing’ what we are thinking. Match up the words and pictures of the many different ways to communicate.
Okay, junior philosophers… As you are getting more and more to grips with the big idea of COMMUNICATION, are you ready now to tackle the THINK CHALLENGE below…?
CHANGING HOW WE COMMUNICATE
When did you last write a letter and post it to someone? Probably a while ago. And that’s because technology – for example, the internet, computers, and mobile phones – has changed the way we communicate.
Instead of sending letters people now send text messages or emails, which are super-fast and don’t take two days to be delivered through your letterbox. Because of this technology, we can now communicate easily with people all around the world.
Often, though, we are not communicating with people ‘face-to-face’. This means it isn’t always easy to work out how people are feeling because we can’t see their faces or hear their voices and decide if they are happy, worried, or sad.
So, there are advantages (good things) and disadvantages (not so good things) about communicating using technology.
Try the CHOICE CHALLENGE to see what YOU think…
Philosophy for Children: Communication
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LISTENING
Sometimes people think communicating is all about talking, but listening is just as important.
Indeed, some people think listening is more important than talking because if no one is listening to what you are saying, you’re not actually communicating your ideas at all.
We know that we listen with our ears and often use our eyes to look at the person who is talking, but the Chinese Listening Symbol includes some other interesting and less obvious ideas.
It includes using our mind to think about what is being said, focusing on the person who is talking, and caring about what they are saying.
CARING is an important part of thinking in a philosophical way, as we are valuing people’s ideas and respecting them.
“The simple act of caring is heroic.” ~ Edward Albert
“Communication works for those who work at it.” ~ John Powell
CAN YOU DESIGN YOUR OWN SYMBOL FOR COMMUNICATION?
Think about what you now understand communication to be, and include your ideas in your symbol.
Here are some more philosophical questions about the idea of communication that other children have thought of.
TALK to a friend or family member about these questions and see if you AGREE or DISAGREE with their ideas.
- What would happen if we banned communication?
- Is communicating and understanding the key to the future?
- Could we live with communicating in only one way?
- Does communication affect our lives?
Send us your communication symbols, with some labels telling us what each part shows.
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion it has taken place. ” ~ George Bernard Shaw
This article appeared in issue 2 of Brilliant Brainz magazine.
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