I am a 74 year old former teacher who now works part time as a driver education instructor for a private sector driving school located in the western suburbs of Chicago. Generally speaking, this driving school attracts academically inclined 15- and 16-year-olds who prefer to learn to drive outside of school hours. This private sector option allows these students to load their respective class schedules with honors classes (not driver’s education) which, upon high school graduation, increase their chances of being accepted to the college of their choice.

In short, I ride with a lot of really bright kids from 6 different public high schools and 4 different private high schools, a large percentage of whom are straight-A students. And each of these children, in their own unique way, is very interested in exploring the various issues involved in living a life worth living. But ironically, only one of these nine highly regarded high schools offers a class in the field that is specifically designed to explore what it means to live a life worth living, namely the field of Philosophy.

And at this one high school, philosophy is offered strictly as an elective. This means that only a very small percentage of the students in that school come face to face and wrestle with the most profound and influential thinkers in history, from Socrates, Plato and Aristotle to Aquinas, Descartes, Rousseau, Spinoza, Locke, Hume. , Kant, Hegel Kierkegaard. , Marx and Nietzsche, just to name a few. While the kids in the other eight schools have zero chance of learning anything about these intellectual giants other than their names in a historical context.

A simple solution to a deep problem
But luckily for the kids I drive with, I have a simple solution. Let me introduce you to a podcast titled “PHILOSOPHY THIS”. Seattle-based producer and narrator Steven West does an absolutely spectacular job of translating some very complicated philosophical concepts into plain English. He speaks to the current generation on his terms. He also does a great job of providing a context in which these iconic figures can be fully understood and appreciated for their contributions to the history of the human race.

West has been producing his wonderful podcast (free for the asking) since 2013. He currently hosts nearly 150 twenty-five to thirty minute episodes. The context it provides allows each episode to stand on its own. This means that you can listen to them in chronological order. Or you can pick at random and still end up with a wealth of knowledge that very few high school or college students in this nation will actually tap into.

It will make your wheels turn…
I confess that, in my own case, “Philosophizing This” borders on addiction. I can barely drop the damn thing. But more importantly to this communication, any student who finds the time to give Steven West’s podcast a fair chance will be presented with critical thinking experiences that, in the name of STEM, are being ignored by modern educational systems throughout. the country. On the contrary, West will make your mental wheels spin in a way you’ve never experienced before. I promise! And, because so few students will take advantage of these extremely insightful possibilities, he’ll automatically become the smartest kid in his class by default!