Plato’s Cave

Once upon a time, in a dimly lit and damp cave, there lived a family of prisoners in chains. Their heads were fixed so that they could only see the wall in front of them. Behind them there was a fire to keep them warm. On this wall, they saw shadows, and they spent their whole day watching these shadows.

The shadows came from the world outside, but the prisoners did not know this. They saw the shadows as real and made up elaborate stories about the enlarged creatures, objects, and flora that paraded past them on their shadow wall. They were never bored, as new objects and things always came into view for them to discuss, give names to, and create stories about.

But one prisoner, Theo, was different from the rest. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

One day, Theo noticed a crack in the rock behind him. It was just the right size for his chain. Quietly, while the others were asleep, he positioned his chain into the rock and, with a mighty twist, broke his bonds.

He was free!

He turned around and for the first time saw the fire. “What is this?” he thought. He then looked toward the opening of the cave, a little blinded by the light. Theo tiptoed closer to the entrance of the cave, so as not to wake the others.

What he saw was a parade of puppets held by men – cutouts of birds, clay pots, and trees fixed onto sticks.”Wait a minute,” Theo thought, “that bird that we saw on the cave wall is just a stick with feathers glued on?” It’s not real?!

The puppet masters were startled to see Theo and with angry hushed whispers told him to go back to the cave and the shadows where it is safe. “The others wouldn’t understand,” they sternly explained.

But Theo couldn’t unsee the truth. He wanted to know more. “I must find out what’s beyond this cave!” he thought to himself.

Theo started to climb higher up towards the entrance. The path was steep and rough. He stumbled and tripped as he went. After what felt like hours, he finally emerged into a dazzling, sunlit world. The brightness stung his eyes.

Slowly, as his eyes adjusted, he saw the most beautiful sights: the trees glistened in all shades of green after a morning shower of rain. Rivers sparkled like silver blue ribbons. Birds soared and dipped across the vast and open sky. Theo fell to his knees, overwhelmed by the beauty of reality. “This is the real world,” he thought. He was proud to be amongst such awe and wonder. With this newfound understanding, he sprinted back to the cave; he couldn’t wait to tell the others.

As he re-entered the cave, he was shocked by how dim and gloomy it seemed. The prisoners were still enthralled by the shadows. Clea, one of the family members, was cheering as a shadow-tree “danced” across the wall.

“Everyone, listen!” Theo shouted. “The shadows aren’t real! I’ve seen the truth—a whole world outside this cave! There are real trees and real birds, not just their shadows.”

The prisoners turned to him, frowning.

“Poor Theo,” Clea said with a pitying look. “The climb must have broken his mind.”

“But it’s true!” Theo insisted. “I can show you the way. Just follow me.”

Clea shook her head. “Leave us to our shadows, Theo. We’re quite happy here.”

Theo was disheartened but persistent. He continued to leave the cave, slowly learning the ways of the world, spending time in nature, seeing its wonders and beauty and noticing how everything worked together. All parts of the world had different but important jobs. He continued to visit his new world and encouraged others to do the same.

Over time, some shadow watchers also learned to break free of their chains while others stayed. Some of his family were happy and did not want to see Theo’s world.

Theo looked beyond the shadows and found a world more beautiful and vivid than he could imagine. Although the truth can be confronting and challenging, it is always worth seeking.

Like Theo, let’s look to find a beautiful and vivid world of education, a new set of truths that can define our reality of what education is and should be.

Until next time,

Mon x

• This is a story from Ancient Greek Philosopher Plato, famously called Plato’s Cave . It is considered Plato’s most famous story concerning how we see truth and that sometimes our version of truth is just an illusion, a shadow on the wall. As human beings our quests is therefore to always go in search of new realities where the truth, or an updated version of the truth can be know.