Walking through the doorway into John Daum's classroom at Central High School, students get a pretty good idea about his philosophy of life.
"Question everything," a sign beneath his nameplate reads. Under that is a piece of paper with nothing but a giant black question mark.
Mr. Daum has been teaching history and religion at Central for the past eight years, and this semester he got the opportunity to teach the class he says he's been waiting to teach his entire life: introduction to philosophy and ethics.
Mr. Daum, lead teacher in Central's humanities academy, has been instrumental in bringing electives such as film studies and world religions to the high school this year. So far, Central is the only public high school in Hamilton County to offer a philosophy course.
"To come to Central High School and get the liberal arts education we offer, that's an easy sell to parents," Mr. Daum said. "We're really trying to bring college down to high school."
The philosophy class is a senior-level elective meant to help students think about their own lives and figure out what they believe to be true, Mr. Daum said.
Students in the class said they're excited about something that's so different from the typical math and English classes they're used to.
"I want to nail down my beliefs and, in preparation for college, listen to what other people believe," said senior Hannah Yancey, 18. "I want to develop my own philosophy of life."
Philosophy class begins at 7:20 a.m., and students say that on Thursdays they're planning to show up at 6:40 a.m. for a philosophy and coffee club.
"I love starting out my day thinking about these things," said senior Amy Gerlach, 17.
"Yeah, if you get this stuff off your chest first thing in the morning, it makes the day more meaningful," added Blake Smith, 18.
In his class, Mr. Daum said, he plans to make his students do more than memorize names of famous philosophers and their theories. Thanks to last week's snow days, the class was just getting under way Tuesday, and Mr. Daum had his students spend time brainstorming their questions about life.
Many students' papers were covered with questions they had written about spirituality, God and religion.
"I think I realized that there are a lot of things I don't know the answer to," said Brad Brown-Rinkvist, 18, during the ensuing class discussion. "Especially with religion: the existence of God, whether he is in control."
COURSE OBJECTIVESStudents will explore the key terms, thinkers and issues in the field of philosophy and ethics. The goal of the course is for the students to cultivate a curiosity about life. The course will serve as a catalyst for the students to discover their own philosophies of life. Students actively will engage the essential questions of the human experience and learn how to order and articulate their own beliefs.
After about 20 minutes of writing down questions, some students said they began to wonder if ignorance really is bliss.
"If you spend your whole life asking questions, are you really living life?" asked Rachel Cramer, 17.
Administrators at Central had to apply to the district and then the state Department of Education to receive a special course code to teach philosophy, said Ava Warren, Hamilton County Schools' assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. No other schools offer the course, but Dr. Warren said that once word gets out, she suspects other schools might follow suit.