{"id":14756,"date":"2022-02-09T21:54:20","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T21:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/development.plato-philosophy.org\/?post_type=teachertoolkit&#038;p=14756"},"modified":"2025-10-06T15:19:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T22:19:24","slug":"whats-the-point","status":"publish","type":"teachertoolkit","link":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/whats-the-point\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s the Point?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Have students answer the prompt: \u201cI am wondering, what\u2019s the point of _______?\u201d with as many responses as they can think of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Make a list of their answers and then vote for which ones the group would like to discuss first. Think together about what the point is of the thing in question. Might it be the kind of thing that feels important but really is not? Perhaps it is the kind of thing that feels insignificant but is in fact quite important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep a copy of their \u201cWhat\u2019s the point of____?\u201d lists and use their answers for future discussions or as warm-ups at the start of philosophy sessions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have students answer the prompt: \u201cI am wondering, what\u2019s the point of _______?\u201d with as many responses as they can think of. Make a list of their answers and then vote for which ones the group would like to discuss first. Think together about what the point is of the thing in question. Might it <a href=\"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/whats-the-point\/\" class=\"more-link\">&#8230;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  What&#8217;s the Point?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14758,"template":"","toolkitcategory":[29,758],"gradelevel":[48,47,46],"topics":[],"class_list":["post-14756","teachertoolkit","type-teachertoolkit","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","toolkitcategory-history-social-studies","toolkitcategory-metaphysics","gradelevel-high-school-and-beyond","gradelevel-middle-school","gradelevel-primary-elementary"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What&#039;s the Point? - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What&#039;s the Point? - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have students answer the prompt: \u201cI am wondering, what\u2019s the point of _______?\u201d with as many responses as they can think of. Make a list of their answers and then vote for which ones the group would like to discuss first. Think together about what the point is of the thing in question. Might it ... What&#8217;s the Point?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/whats-the-point\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PLATO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PLATOPhilosophy?fref=ts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-06T22:19:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture9.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"187\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"262\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@platoorg\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/whats-the-point\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/whats-the-point\\\/\",\"name\":\"What's the Point? - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/whats-the-point\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/whats-the-point\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Picture9.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-09T21:54:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-06T22:19:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/whats-the-point\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/whats-the-point\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/whats-the-point\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Picture9.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Picture9.jpg\",\"width\":187,\"height\":262,\"caption\":\"Man with hand on face\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/whats-the-point\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Philosophy ToolKit\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"What&#8217;s the Point?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"PLATO\",\"description\":\"Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/05\\\/Plato-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/05\\\/Plato-Logo.png\",\"width\":354,\"height\":181,\"caption\":\"Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/PLATOPhilosophy?fref=ts\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/platoorg\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What's the Point? - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What's the Point? - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization","og_description":"Have students answer the prompt: \u201cI am wondering, what\u2019s the point of _______?\u201d with as many responses as they can think of. Make a list of their answers and then vote for which ones the group would like to discuss first. Think together about what the point is of the thing in question. Might it ... What&#8217;s the Point?","og_url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/whats-the-point\/","og_site_name":"PLATO","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PLATOPhilosophy?fref=ts","article_modified_time":"2025-10-06T22:19:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":187,"height":262,"url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture9.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@platoorg","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/whats-the-point\/","url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/whats-the-point\/","name":"What's the Point? - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/whats-the-point\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/whats-the-point\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture9.jpg","datePublished":"2022-02-09T21:54:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-06T22:19:24+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/whats-the-point\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/whats-the-point\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/whats-the-point\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture9.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture9.jpg","width":187,"height":262,"caption":"Man with hand on face"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/whats-the-point\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Philosophy ToolKit","item":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"What&#8217;s the Point?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/","name":"PLATO","description":"Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/#organization","name":"Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization","url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Plato-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Plato-Logo.png","width":354,"height":181,"caption":"Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PLATOPhilosophy?fref=ts","https:\/\/x.com\/platoorg"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/teachertoolkit\/14756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/teachertoolkit"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/teachertoolkit"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"toolkitcategory","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/toolkitcategory?post=14756"},{"taxonomy":"gradelevel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gradelevel?post=14756"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=14756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}