It is no secret that public education in the United States is lacking.

When compared to other nations, the U.S. has consistently ranked around No. 15 in education. While this number alone is troubling, we can also see the real-life consequences of weak education in our day-to-day lives. Teaching students philosophy at a younger age would help alleviate these problems.

During the months after the election, it became clear to me that a divide exists in our population.

The correct resonse to this divide should be to work together in constructing solutions that benefit everyone and to think logically through issues before taking a stance on them. This is not happening.

Instead, we see anger and short-sightedness coming from our fellow Americans. We see people come to rash decisions simply because an issue is labeled Republican or Democratic, without ever really thinking about the issue itself.

All this negativity, anger, and illogical thinking hinders democratic society, and it stems directly from a population void of rationality or understanding. The answer to solving this problem begins with teaching philosophy in high schools.

Simply put, philosophy teaches you how to think, and teaching our population how to think will solve many of our societal problems.

Most high school courses only aim to prepare students for tests by making them memorize facts, formulas and definitions. In philosophy courses, students learn more than information to regurgitate. They learn how to analyze not only the views of others but views of their own. They learn how to problem solve and to write strategically. They learn how to think.

On top of learning important skills, exposing children to philosophy at a young age could shape their future career paths or aspirations. Philosophy opens doors to new beliefs and ideas.

I never knew what philosophy really was in high school. I did not think it was important. I viewed philosophy as superfluous and presumptuous. It was not until my first class at IU that I realized that philosophy is the exact opposite. If I never took a philosophy class, my world view and beliefs would be different for the worse.

In high school I never questioned why I believed what I did. After my first philosophy course, however, I learned to ask myself the important question of why and found that a lot of my beliefs were flawed. With this knowledge, I set off searching for truth and changed as a person in doing so.

Philosophy also fits perfectly into high school curriculum because anyone can learn it, and it acts as the building blocks of all science. Anyone with a mind that can think and reason can partake in philosophy. You do not have to be extremely smart, wealthy or strong to learn philosophy. You just must ask questions about the world you live in and be willing to question your own beliefs.

Teaching philosophy in the U.S.’s education system will foster a more rational population and solve many of the problems in our society. The key to a successful nation is a population that can think rationally, and the key to thinking rationally is philosophy.

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