Education to Empower

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.