John Waterhouse Society

The John Waterhouse Society is a philosophical discussion group which gives students opportunities to develop academic interests beyond the classroom and engage in debate and discussion. At present, the Society comprises over 20 students from Year 11, who meet regularly throughout the year to listen to, and discuss, papers presented by members. Topics are chosen by speakers, reflecting their interests and ideas, and this is an excellent opportunity to develop research and critical thinking skills in preparation for university. This year I'm working with another student on a presentation focused on our brain's perception of reality, extending some of the content we've looked at in TOK. The students involved will also be involved in organising the ethics lectures that are presented throughout the year by guest speakers.

John Waterhouse Society Experience Details

Planning Details:

Determine the date that we’ll be presenting and on what topic
- We decided to present on the 27th April on the Nature of Reality
For the presentation, we will need to create a power-point presentation, and have enough knowledge on the topic to be able to talk to the rest of the boys in the society about it.
The 27th is just after school holidays, so we will develop the presentation during that time and read about it to develop a greater understanding on the topic.
After presenting our topic, we need to attend all the other evenings when the other presenters are giving their talks.

CAS Learning Outcomes:

Learning outcome 1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

Considering I am studying philosophy for my IB, I would consider it to be one of my strengths in relation to the John Waterhouse Society, or at the very least, a topic that I’m interested in. In this regard it won’t be difficult to research the topic I’m investigating or listen to the topics of other boys. I think this will develop my research skills as well as my presentation skills, as they are both areas for growth for me.

Learning outcome 2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

The challenges that I’ll face, although not necessarily large, are in relation to my weaknesses mentioned above. My researching technique is not the best, and so by investigating a topic with which I’m not familiar, I’m going to have to develop how I research. Furthermore, when giving the presentation, I’ll be working on my presentation skills, particularly doing so without an notes in front of me, and just from actually knowing the content.

Learning outcome 3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

This outcome is not relevant to this experience, as the activity was already organised through the school and all that I had to do was sign up.

Learning outcome 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

I think you show commitment to the Society by attending all the sessions, particularly when they are in the evening, when you may prefer to be at home. The greatest commitment will be attending all the student presentations, as well as the Ethics Centre lectures, of which the presentations on the 10th of August and 7th of September are two.

Learning outcome 5: Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively

Considering all the presentations are done in groups, we all quickly realised that we will need to develop the skills to work collaboratively and will reap the benefits from that. If we don’t, the task will become too much for us to do ourselves and the presentation will not be a success.

Learning outcome 6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

Through the John Waterhouse Society, we are able to engage with issues of global significance through the variety of topics chosen by the students. Some of particular relevance are the ones relating to migration as well as the different political philosophies.

Learning outcome 7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

This experience is almost perfect for this outcome, particularly when some of the topics engage with moral philosophy, and so directly question and analyse our ethical decisions.