Education to Empower

Day two of the Philosophical Horizons conference on Philosophy for Children (Keeping the Child in Mind) was every bit as wondrous as the first.

The day began with Jana Mohr Lone of the Northwest Center for Philosophy for Children presenting on moral philosophy.  We were split into groups and asked to contemplate the notion of morality, indifference, risk, action and completing moral obligations in the context of the holocaust.  The resulting discussion was made all the more illuminating by the revelation that much of our discussion and conclusions could be found when this discussion occured in schools!

David Kennedy of Montclair University spoke next.  While his discussion ranged over a number of important topics, what I see underlined in my notes is his discussion of how very central philosophy is to democratic education.  If we are at all serious about producing citizens, then forming communities of philosophical inquiry – which is an innately democratic activity – is essential.  How can we produce citizens if our educational system only allows them to practice following orders?  Among his other insights, I really enjoyed his use of all statements to provoke counter examples from his younger students.  Its a charmingly effective tactic and one I will certainly have to incorporate into our own approach.

We had a nice, long lunch.  A number of curious side conversations occured.

Then we were onto our next speaker: Thomas Wartenberg of Mount Holyoke.  He talked about his program, in which education and philosophy undergraduates go into elementary schools to teach philosophy using children’s literature.  From Tom’s talk I got a real sense of how very important philosophy is to developing one’s ability to absorb information critically.  The value of this cannot be overstated, as it has applications in everything from digesting the news to resisting peer pressure.  Philosophy really encourages children to talk to each other on a deeper level.  Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of this talk was the news that his former undergraduates were going on to continue working towards improving education.  The transformative nature of doing philosophy with children was inspiring his college students in ways that helped guide them well after graduation.

Michael Burroughs of UMemphis followed Professor Wartenberg with a discussion of his own work in Memphis.  Michael really drove home how deeply connected philosophy for children is to the notion of social justice, and how immediate and empowering it can be.  He also delved into the history of philosophy in order to issue an energetic call for the dignity, agency and intelligence of the child.  It is vital to remember that in the work of spreading philosophy for children, we are affirming the rights of children.

Finally Rafael Rondon of Sacred Heart Catholic School spoke.  He began with a discussion of the benefits of philosophy for the moral development of children.  He then launched an unrepenting foray into the poisonous effects of poverty’s stressors on the cognitive development of children.  He cited Martha Farah of the University of Pennsylvania’s work, and how the issue of poverty was therefore an issue of bioethics.  It simply was not possible to come away from the talk without the knowledge that those of us working towards disparate parts of education reform need to band together to passionately and effectively advocate for the rights of the child.  We can do so much better by our children, and we have every obligation to try our hardest to achieve that progress.

Philosophy is a tool that can help teachers connect with students on a much deeper and effective level than traditional instruction.  But we must, must include philosophy within the larger context of our current educational system with all its flaws, quirks, and within the efforts to reform it.  Coming away from this conference I feel confident in what we can accomplish.  I had the great fortune of meeting lovely, passionate and intelligent people across a range of backgrounds and generations, all dedicated to achieving real change in how we teach our children.  I cannot wait to see where we go from here.

Michael Dean Burroughs (a PHD candidate at UMemphis) has a blog for the philosophy class he teaches at Booker T Washington High School in Memphis, TN.  What makes it especially interesting, aside from his engaging style of writing and the philosophical problems themselves, is the responses in the comment sections from his students.  He invites visitors to join in!

Can happiness and pleasure be the same thing, or are they fundamentally different?  Is justice fairness, the existence of consequences, or a state of being?  Can there be a universal concept of a good life, or will it differ from person to person in a way that defies a single description?

Discuss the distinction between happiness and pleasure, the definition of justice, or what constitutes the good life and other topics with high school students and other guests over at Blog Philos.

Day one of the Philosophical Horizons conference on Philosophy for Children (Keeping the Child in Mind) has been a blast!  We started off the day with an excellent breakfast at Brother Juniper’s and a brainstorming session.  We discussed the nature and impact of philosophy for children, and how to promote it more effectively.  We then observed a discussion of the nature of color with a group of local kindergarten students (using the wonderful book The Great Blueness and Other Predicaments by Arnold Lobel).  We then broke for lunch, returning for the introduction to the conference and Gareth Matthew‘s stirring keynote address (Gary is on the advisory board of Education to Empower).

He made a number of rather key observations and points.  In particular that children enjoy philosophy because, in their words, “the teacher has to listen to what we say” (which echoes my experiences in DC).  The other being that adults benefit.  Philosophical education is not a one way street, and no where else is the idea that we can learn from children so clear and practical as it is in the study of philosophy.  He also emphasized the importance of how we relate to children.  When you introduce philosophical discussion into your relationship with children, be they younger family members or students, it changes and deepens that relationship in a wonderful way.

The night ended with a reception lasting well into the night, and filled with excited conversations about the nature and purpose of philosophy, education, and a shared commitment to progress.