Abstract

What is there to learn about teaching philosophy by working at the Italian School in Istanbul? The different cultural frames of students and teachers, and their different levels in mastering Italian can become both an obstacle and a resource for the educational process. The fresh experience of being sent to teach abroad in a lockdown situation, due to the Covid pandemic, and of having to teach students I had never met in person, was a big challenge that forced me to question and change my teaching methods. This challenging historical moment can become an opportunity to reflect on effective ways of teaching philosophy online, and to ask ourselves: what is there to gain or lose? The ongoing experience of social distancing is tiring and very stressful, but if philosophy also has the aim of developing thoughts in order to better cope with different moments in life, then it should be taught in a way that allows students to approach the subject as a tool for the acquisition of understanding and meaning, and not merely as a sequence of ideas throughout history.