Philosophy for children

Matthew Lipman's experiences of being the chairman of the Philosophy Department at Columbia University during the late sixties, led him to acknowledge that schools were failing to teach children how to think.  (P4C, 2013)

Philosophy for children (P4C) is a coherent programmed developed by Matthew Lipman and colleagues at Montclair University, USA. 

 P4C (2013) suggests that the programme was developed at a time when there was growing  interest shown by education establishments, to research what thinking skills are and the benefits associated with higher order thinking. Philosophy for children focuses on developing those thinking skills; the principles of P4C are based around the concept of learning how to learn (Fisher, 2013). 

 

SAPREE (2010) describes the main aims of P4C; they are to encourage children to think creatively, caringly, collaboratively and most importantly critically. Philosophy4children (2014) insinuates, as a result of this, various areas of development such as: children's moral development; reasoning skills; confidence; respect; empathy and social skills improve.



The video above demonstrates the nature of P4C sessions; they usually consist of two, one hour sessions per week. It is important for the children and facilitator to sit in a circle, so that everyone one can see each other. A stimulus is used for philosophical questions, which children construct to be explored. Within this learning environment, discussion is the main form of teaching and learning (Youtube, 2009)

One major characteristic of P4C is the element of mystery; this is because, there are no correct or incorrect answers, as the questions are focused on morals. It is your own personal opinion which is valued; children are able to share their views and ideas on various topics without displaying any fear of being "wrong" (Fisher 2013).

Alternatively, one criticism of P4C is that it is difficult link the sessions to the curriculum; this is primarily due to lack of teacher training. In addition, Lipman's novels which lack in literary style can prove to be an issue for teachers as they need to seek philosophical stimulus from traditional stories and picture books, something which needs further training for it to be carried out effectively (Fisher 2013).

In conclusion, I am particularly interested by the concept of mystery in philosophy for children sessions and how children can express their views and opinions freely. In my opinion, these sessions teach children valuable life skills and most importantly, increase their self esteem and confidence levels.

References

Fisher, R. (2013) Teaching Thinking: Philosophical Enquiry in the Classroom. London: Bloomsbury.

P4C (2013) History of P4C: A brief history of philosophy for children. http://p4c.com/history-p4c (Accessed: 4th December 2014).

Philosophy4children (2014) What is philosophy for children?. http://www.philosophy4children.co.uk/home/p4c/ (Accessed:4th December 2014)

SAPREE (2010) Get young minds racing!. http://www.sapere.org.uk/ (Accessed: 4th December 2014).

Youtube (2009) Philosophy for children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_B32HtnWg (Accessed: 4th December 2014).