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Teaching Children To Be Philosophers
From The Philosopher's ZoneFirst aired Saturday 6 December 2008
How young is too young to think philosophically? Philosophers like Philip Cam from the University of New South Wales say there's no developmental reason why primary school age children can't be taught to think and to reason, and that developing these skills has a significant effect on their lives both in and out of the classroom.
So this week we spend time with a Grade 6 class at Stanmore Public School in Sydney as it grapples with what constitutes a meaningful life.
...
Transcript
Alan Saunders: Hello, I'm Alan Saunders, thanks for joining me for The Philosopher's Zone.
In the Year 6 classroom at Stanmore Public School in Sydney, the teacher, Dan Smith, is always right. Well, nearly always. Because once a week when the students move all the chairs into a big circle and gather for an hour of philosophy, their teacher is the first to admit that he does not have all the answers.
Two years ago, the school introduced philosophy to grades 5 and 6, and even though it's still a niche subject in Australian schools, its popularity is growing. From next year, learning to teach philosophy will be compulsory for all teaching students at the Queensland University of Technology.
But are the rigors of philosophy too much for children? The people in this program don't think so, and nor did the educational theorist, Jerome Bruner who 30 years ago suggested that 'the foundations of any subject may be taught to anybody at any age in some form'.
Of course there could be a downside to teaching kids philosophy. We might equip them to tear holes in the supposedly logical and well thought through ideas of grown-ups! I guess we'll just have to be careful.
So let's find out what goes on in the philosophy class at Stanmore Public School. The producer of The Philosopher's Zone, Kyla Slaven, paid them a visit.
Dan Smith: Marley could you read that for us, please?
Boy: Do we actually need to live a meaningful life?
Dan Smith: First sentence to talk to the person next to you: do we actually need to live a meaningful life?
CHILDREN TALKING
Dan Smith: Students love philosophy. I've actually looked forward to it. If there's something on in the school that has to change the plan that they're really disappointed. It almost empowers them to be discussing the big issues or the things that they hear Mum and Dad talk about.
Whenever a philosophy lesson finishes and it's time to finish, it's always like 'Oh, you're joking, I want to say one more thing', and a lot of kids hang around in the classroom to discuss those issues further.
Girl: Every life is meaningful, so I think that 'Do we actually need to live a meaningful life' is a rhetorical question.
Lucy: I'm Lucy, and I go to Stanmore Public School and I'm in Mr Smith's class. You know, how you do the hands-up thing in class, well it doesn't really work in philosophy because people with other opinions they just shout them out, and with the ball it's like you have the ball, which means that you're talking, no-one else can talk, and when you put your hands on top, it means that you've finished and everyone can put their hands up. And the reason why people can't put their hands up while you're speaking is because they're thinking about what they want to say, not what you're saying.
Kyla Slaven: So the ball works pretty well?
Lucy: It does work pretty well but it wouldn't work so well in class, because the ball would move a lot more quickly, because in philosophy, we give reasons why and we expand and we clarify and we agree, we disagree, whereas just questions in class it's more like.... 1977.
Kyla Slaven: And the ball would just be flying around and hitting people in the head.
Lucy: Yes.
Kyla Slaven: Do you find each week that you would learn a lot in a philosophy class?
Lucy: I think that I do, because you learn a lot about what other people think, and also discovering your own opinion too. And thinking something that's maybe part of the obvious and then you hear someone else, and saying 'Hey maybe that's true', and just discovering what that thing is.
Dan Smith: Hi there, I'm Dan Smith. I teach Year 6 at Stanmore Public School. Just generally on topics we discuss, sometimes I'm a very black and white person in the way I think, and my friends and colleagues would agree. So it's a huge eye-opener to sit around with a group of 11 and 12 year olds and have them say things to you, and you sit back and go, as an adult say, 'That's a really interesting way of thinking about that, like I was thinking this way, and I thought this way was the only right way.' So I definitely know as adults, and from working with the colleagues on my team with this, we've all had moments where we've sat back and thought, 'Wow, this child's just challenged me with this, and it's really turned around the way I think about things.'
In the Year 6 classroom at Stanmore Public School in Sydney, the teacher, Dan Smith, is always right. Well, nearly always. Because once a week when the students move all the chairs into a big circle and gather for an hour of philosophy, their teacher is the first to admit that he does not have all the answers.
Two years ago, the school introduced philosophy to grades 5 and 6, and even though it's still a niche subject in Australian schools, its popularity is growing. From next year, learning to teach philosophy will be compulsory for all teaching students at the Queensland University of Technology.
But are the rigors of philosophy too much for children? The people in this program don't think so, and nor did the educational theorist, Jerome Bruner who 30 years ago suggested that 'the foundations of any subject may be taught to anybody at any age in some form'.
Of course there could be a downside to teaching kids philosophy. We might equip them to tear holes in the supposedly logical and well thought through ideas of grown-ups! I guess we'll just have to be careful.
So let's find out what goes on in the philosophy class at Stanmore Public School. The producer of The Philosopher's Zone, Kyla Slaven, paid them a visit.
Dan Smith: Marley could you read that for us, please?
Boy: Do we actually need to live a meaningful life?
Dan Smith: First sentence to talk to the person next to you: do we actually need to live a meaningful life?
CHILDREN TALKING
Dan Smith: Students love philosophy. I've actually looked forward to it. If there's something on in the school that has to change the plan that they're really disappointed. It almost empowers them to be discussing the big issues or the things that they hear Mum and Dad talk about.
Whenever a philosophy lesson finishes and it's time to finish, it's always like 'Oh, you're joking, I want to say one more thing', and a lot of kids hang around in the classroom to discuss those issues further.
Girl: Every life is meaningful, so I think that 'Do we actually need to live a meaningful life' is a rhetorical question.
Lucy: I'm Lucy, and I go to Stanmore Public School and I'm in Mr Smith's class. You know, how you do the hands-up thing in class, well it doesn't really work in philosophy because people with other opinions they just shout them out, and with the ball it's like you have the ball, which means that you're talking, no-one else can talk, and when you put your hands on top, it means that you've finished and everyone can put their hands up. And the reason why people can't put their hands up while you're speaking is because they're thinking about what they want to say, not what you're saying.
Kyla Slaven: So the ball works pretty well?
Lucy: It does work pretty well but it wouldn't work so well in class, because the ball would move a lot more quickly, because in philosophy, we give reasons why and we expand and we clarify and we agree, we disagree, whereas just questions in class it's more like.... 1977.
Kyla Slaven: And the ball would just be flying around and hitting people in the head.
Lucy: Yes.
Kyla Slaven: Do you find each week that you would learn a lot in a philosophy class?
Lucy: I think that I do, because you learn a lot about what other people think, and also discovering your own opinion too. And thinking something that's maybe part of the obvious and then you hear someone else, and saying 'Hey maybe that's true', and just discovering what that thing is.
Dan Smith: Hi there, I'm Dan Smith. I teach Year 6 at Stanmore Public School. Just generally on topics we discuss, sometimes I'm a very black and white person in the way I think, and my friends and colleagues would agree. So it's a huge eye-opener to sit around with a group of 11 and 12 year olds and have them say things to you, and you sit back and go, as an adult say, 'That's a really interesting way of thinking about that, like I was thinking this way, and I thought this way was the only right way.' So I definitely know as adults, and from working with the colleagues on my team with this, we've all had moments where we've sat back and thought, 'Wow, this child's just challenged me with this, and it's really turned around the way I think about things.'
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= new reply since forum marked as read
thanks for the links
