Let's Teach Kids Philosophy
“Another study conducted in Hawaii by Dr Lu Leng showed philosophy helped pupils to feel more engaged with their education. One schoolchild who took part in the study said: “It’s a feeling like being with someone you trust or like being with your family who listen to you and hold you up. I see this class as a family and I know I can express myself freely.” … So what does a school philosophy lesson look like? Organisations like the P4C Co-operative provide materials for teachers, to be used with kids as young as three. In one typical lesson plan, pupils act out the fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper, with four different endings that give four different morals, exploring responsibility, reward, compassion and kindness. They then discuss and debate which moral they agree with, and why. Other lesson guides give teachers a loose structure for a philosophical discussion based on any book or film of their choice.
In the context of Covid-19 and the heated debate and misinformation found online, the P4C Co-operative has begun providing special materials looking at the nature of truth, how people form opinions, and how people argue. One lesson encourages children to consider how a person’s views may be influenced by the social group they belong to, while another invites them to argue both for and against the same proposition, to consider how beliefs and opinions are developed, rationalised and reinforced. … Many teachers hold ‘safe space’ classes, where students and teachers discuss topics on equal terms and there are no ‘wrong’ questions. And of course, teachers can introduce students to the field of philosophy itself, its key figures and its history." (fivemedia.com, Let’s Teach Kids Philosophy)