Micro-Activity #4: Allegory of the Cave

“Allegory of the Cave” by Plato taught society a lot about what it means to be a student and to be a teacher. The role of teacher and student in society is a very important role our generations have passed on. The circulation of knowledge that humans and animals alike have inhabited into our lives was a very important feat.The role of the teacher and the student, to pass knowledge from one person to the next has helped guide humans down the right path towards ultimate knowledge. In “Allegory of the Cave”, Plato makes his point that teachers must be driven. People are comfortable in their ignorance so if they do not see exactly what it is with their own eyes they can never truly learn. Just like the other people locked away inside of the cave in Plato’s book, the others who did not get to see the world beyond the cave were in disbelief of what the man had seen and then started to resent him and believe he was lesser than they were. A teacher must be able to show the student and help the see with their own eyes or else a true understanding will not occur.

In the book Plato describes education by saying “Education takes for granted that sight is there but that it isn’t turned the right way or looking where it ought to look, and it tries to redirect it appropriately.” What Plato is saying here about education is that education is something that many people ought to think about differently. When he says “sight is there but it isn’t turned the right way,” basically means that everyone has the ability to learn and be educated when it comes down to the fundamentals of education it in its simplest form is pointing someone’s way of thinking in the right direction so that the person can find the answer they are looking for.