Seen and Not Heard
Year Published: 2021
How might society benefit if children were recognized as independent thinkers, capable of seeing clearly and contributing in valuable ways to our world? How would children’s lives change if what they said was not often ignored or patronized? In a series of conversations with children about many of life’s important philosophical questions, Seen and Not Heard reveals children as perceptive and original thinkers. Guided by discussions about the meaning of childhood, friendship, justice and fairness, happiness, and death, the book invites us to rethink our beliefs about children and become more receptive to the ways we can learn from them.
Gareth B. Matthews, The Child’s Philosopher
Year Published: 2021
Gareth B. Matthews (1929-2011) was a specialist in ancient and medieval philosophy who discovered that young children delight in philosophical puzzlement and that their philosophical thinking often enriched his own understanding. His dialogues with children became the impetus for three academic fields he helped to initiate: philosophy in children’s literature, philosophy for children, and philosophy of childhood. This book brings together groundbreaking essays by Matthews in these fields. In addition, contemporary contributors to the book critically evaluate Matthews’ scholarship, showing where he broke new ground and identifying developments and debates in the fields he helped to initiate.
In Community of Inquiry with Ann Margaret Sharp: Childhood, Philosophy and Education
Year Published: 2019
In close collaboration with the late Matthew Lipman, Ann Margaret Sharp (1942-2010) pioneered the theory and practice of the community of philosophical inquiry. Shaped not only by her work in philosophy and education, but also by her avid studies in literature, feminism, aesthetic theory and ecumenical spirituality, Sharp developed a unique perspective on the interdependence of education, philosophy, personhood and community that remains influential in many parts of the world. In Community of Inquiry with Ann Margaret Sharp is an anthology of Sharp’s insightful and scholarship.
History, Theory and Practice of Philosophy for Children: International Perspectives
Year Published: 2017
This book on Philosophy for Children is a compilation of articles and interviews by its founders and some of the movement‘s leaders worldwide. Part I explains the genesis of the movement, its philosophical and theoretical foundations. Part II examines the specialized uses of philosophical dialogues in teaching philosophy, morality, ethics and sciences. Part III examines the theoretical concerns such as the aims of the method in regards to the search for truth or sense of meaning, or the debate on the novel or short stories and its characteristics. Part IV explains the practices of Philosophy for Children worldwide and the issue of cultural differences, the ways of the community of inquiry and the necessary adaptation to suit local concerns.
The Routledge International Handbook of Philosophy for Children
Year Published: 2016
This collection offers a range of perspectives and practices of Philosophy for Children. The Handbook’s internationally-sourced chapters offer research findings as well as insights into debates provoked by bringing children’s voices into moral and political arenas and to philosophy and the broader educational issues this raises.
Philosophy in Education: Questioning and Dialogue in Schools
Year Published: 2016
Philosophy in Education: Questioning and Dialogue in Schools is intended for philosophers and philosophy students, precollege classroom teachers, administrators and educators, policymakers, and pre-college practitioners of all kinds. This text book offers a wealth of practical resources and lesson plans for use in precollege classrooms, as well as consideration of many of the broader educational, social, and political topics in the field.
A Sneetch Is a Sneetch and Other Philosophical Discoveries
Year Published: 2013
Taking Picture Books Seriously: What can we learn about philosophy through children's books? This warm and charming volume casts a spell on adult readers as it unveils the surprisingly profound philosophical wisdom contained in children's picture books, from Dr Seuss's Sneetches to William Steig's Shrek!. With a light touch and good humor, Wartenberg discusses the philosophical ideas in these classic stories, and provides parents with a practical starting point for discussing philosophical issues with their children
Philosophy in Schools: An Introduction for Philosophers and Teachers
Year Published: 2013
All of us ponder the big and enduring human questions―Who am I? Am I free? What should I do? What is good? Is there justice? Is life meaningful?―but this kind of philosophical interrogation is rarely carefully explored or even taken seriously in most primary and secondary school settings. However, introducing philosophy to young people well before they get to college can help to develop and deepen critical and creative thinking, foster social and behavioral skills, and increase philosophical awareness.
The Philosophy Shop: Ideas, Activities and Questions to Get People, Young and Old, Thinking Philosophically
Year Published: 2013
Imagine a one-stop shop stacked to the rafters with everything you could ever want to tap into young people’s natural curiosity and get them thinking deeply. Well, this is it! Edited by professional philosopher Peter Worley from The Philosophy Foundation, this is packed with ideas, stimuli, thought experiments, activities, short stories, pictures, and questions to get young people thinking philosophically.
Plato Was Wrong! Footnotes on Doing Philosophy with Young People
Year Published: 2012
This book is a compendium of lesson plans for classroom exercises designed to foster philosophical inquiry with young people. It introduces the reader to a wide range of activities for exploring philosophical questions and problems with children from preschool age through high-school. There are lessons for a full-range of topics in philosophy, including metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics, and each is intended to help foster a supportive and caring classroom community of inquiry. All of the activities have been used on numerous occasions and include reflections on what teachers who employ the lesson might expect when doing so.
Philosophy and Education: Introducing Philosophy to Young People
Year Published: 2012
Are children natural philosophers? They are curious about the mysteries of the human experience and about questions such as the meaning and purpose of being alive and whether we can know anything at all. Pre-college philosophy takes as a starting point young people's inherent interest in large questions about the human condition. Philosophy and Education: Introducing Philosophy to Young People seeks to illuminate the ways in which philosophy can strengthen and deepen pre-college education.
The Philosophical Child
Year Published: 2012
What does it mean to be good? Why do people die? What is friendship? Children enter the world full of questions and wrestle with deep, thoughtful issues, even if they do not always wonder them aloud. Many parents have the desire to discuss philosophical ideas with their children, but are unsure how to do so. The Philosophical Child offers parents guidance on how to gently approach philosophical questions with children of all ages. Jana Mohr Lone argues that for children to mature emotionally, they must develop their desire and ability to think abstractly about themselves and their experiences.
The If Machine
Year Published: 2011
Can computers think? What makes something human? How big is infinity? From Sartre to Searle, this practical book is rooted in philosophical theory, and introduced at a level suitable for children. Each session offers an imaginary situation, followed by a series of questions to encourage children to challenge key philosophical ideas such as values and ethics, gender and identity, and existence and beauty.
Picture Books, Pedagogy and Philosophy
Year Published: 2011
Contemporary picturebooks open up spaces for philosophical dialogues between people of all ages. As works of art, picturebooks offer unique opportunities to explore ideas and to create meaning collaboratively. This book considers censorship of certain well-known picturebooks, challenging the assumptions on which this censorship is based.
Philosophy in Children’s Literature
Year Published: 2011
This book allows philosophers, literary theorists, and education specialists to come together to offer a series of readings on works of children’s literature. Each of their readings is focused on pairing a particular, popular picture book or a chapter book with philosophical texts or themes.
Big Ideas for Little Kids
Year Published: 2009
Big Ideas for Little Kids includes everything a teacher, a parent, or a college student needs to teach philosophy to elementary school children from picture books. Written in a clear and accessible style, the book explains why it is important to allow young children access to philosophy during primary-school education. Wartenberg also gives advice on how to construct a 'learner-centered' classroom, in which children discuss philosophical issues with one another as they respond to open-ended questions by saying whether they agree or disagree with what others have said.
Transforming thinking: Philosophical Inquiry in the Primary and Secondary Classroom
Year Published: 2009
Essential reading for anyone who seeks to prepare active citizens for the twenty-first century, this long-awaited book considers Philosophical Inquiry, an empowering teaching method that can lead to significant improvements in confidence and articulacy, and produce positive effects in other school activities and in interactions in the wider world.
Children Philosophize Worldwide
Year Published: 2009
Philosophizing for, with, and by children in a community of inquiry has proven to be an internationally successful learning strategy that enhances both the cognitive and emotional growth of children. Pioneering democratic programs for philosophizing with children now exist throughout the world. The work described in this book represents the latest research on theoretical concepts and applied projects within this field and brings together contributions from twenty-nine countries, representing all continents.
Philosophy with Teenagers: Nurturing a moral imagination for the 21st century
Year Published: 2009
An introduction to the theory and practice of the Community of Philosophical Enquiry (P4C). It explains how P4C can facilitate young people's exploration of the key ethical questions of our time.
The Philosophical Baby: What Children’s Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life
Year Published: 2009
In the last decade there has been a revolution in our understanding of the minds of infants and young children. We used to believe that babies were irrational, and that their thinking and experience were limited. Now Alison Gopnik ― a leading psychologist and philosopher, as well as a mother ― explains the cutting-edge scientific and psychological research that has revealed that babies learn more, create more, care more, and experience more than we could ever have imagined.
Values Education in School: A Resource Book for Student Inquiry
Year Published: 2008
This is an important new resource for teachers involved in values and ethics education. It provides a range of 'practical philosophy' resources for secondary school teachers that can be used in English, religious education, citizenship, personal development, and social science subjects. The materials include narratives to engage students in philosophical inquiry, doing ethics through the activity of philosophy, not simply learning about it.
Teaching Thinking: Philosophical Inquiry in the Classroom
Year Published: 2008
A fully updated third edition of the highly successful guide to using discussion in the classroom to develop children's thinking, learning and literacy skills. This new edition includes material on the latest trends in teaching thinking, including dialogic teaching, creativity and personalized learning. This of ideas is essential reading for anyone seeking to develop children's minds, to build their self-esteem or to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools.
The Heart of Philosophy
Year Published: 2003
Philosophy as it is frequently taught in classrooms bears little relation to the impassioned and immensely practical search for self-knowledge conducted by not only its ancient avatars but also by men and woman who seek after truth today. In The Heart of the Philosophy, Jacob Needleman provides a "user's guide" for those who would take philosophy seriously enough to understand its life-transforming qualities.
Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking
Year Published: 2001
Why teach thinking skills? What are the best strategies for teaching thinking in the classroom? What roles can technology play in the development of such expertise? And how can we assess a student's mastery of thinking skills?
Philosophy for Kids: 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder About Everything!
Year Published: 2000
Inspire animated discussions of questions that concern kids and all of us with this innovative, interactive book. Open your students' minds to the wonders of philosophy. Allow them to grapple with the questions philosophers have discussed since the ancient Greeks. Questions include: "Who are your friends?" "Can computers think?" "Can something logical not make sense?" "Can you think about nothing?" Young minds will find the range of 40 questions to be both entertaining and informative
Ethics 109: What is a child?
Year Published: 1999
Treating someone like a child is prima facie wrong, unless, of course, the person in question really is a child. By ‘treating someone like a child’ I mean interacting with her on the basis of more paternalistic standards than those which apply to adult-adult relations. To treat someone like a child is, roughly, to treat her as if her life is not quite her own to lead and as if her choices are not quite her own to make. I want to know what features of a person’s condition can in principle justify us in treating a person this way. What is a child, such that it could be appropriate to treat a person like one?
Thinking Together
Year Published: 1998
Thinking Together shows how story-based material can be used to help children raise philosophical puzzles and problems that will set them thinking. It shows how to build a community of inquiry in the classroom, and how to use questioning techniques, group discussion and other activities to develop thinking skills and concepts that can be applied across the curriculum.
Reasonable Children
Year Published: 1996
The public outcry for a return to moral education in our schools has raised more dust than it's dispelled. Building upon his provocative ideas in On Becoming Responsible, Michael Pritchard clears the air with a sensible plan for promoting our children's moral education through the teaching of reasonableness.
Philosophy of Childhood
Year Published: 1994
So many questions, such an imagination, endless speculation: the child seems to be a natural philosopher--until the ripe old age of eight or nine, when the spirit of inquiry mysteriously fades. What happened? Was it something we did--or didn't do? Was the child truly the philosophical being he once seemed? Gareth Matthews takes up these concerns in The Philosophy of Childhood, a searching account of children's philosophical potential and of childhood as an area of philosophical inquiry.
Dialogues with Children.
Year Published: 1992
Every week for a year, a professional philosopher and eight children at a school in Edinburgh met to craft stories reflecting philosophical problems. The philosopher, Gareth B. Matthews, believes that children are far more able and eager to think abstractly than adults generally recognize. This engaging book has profound implications for education and for our understating of the range of relationships between adults and children. With the example of these dialogues Matthews invites parents, teachers, and all adults to be open to those moments when they can share with children the pleasures of joint philosophical discovery.
On Becoming Responsible
Year Published: 1991
Michael Pritchard's study of individual morality is set in the trenches, in the valley of life itself. The moral agent he describes is real, not one of the rarified, rational characters portrayed in most ethics texts. Thus the view of morality Pritchard presents in these eleven essays is pluralistic, complex, and down-to-earth.
Thinking in Education
Year Published: 1991
This second edition makes a major contribution toward teaching for judgment skills, not just for knowledge. It provides methods for integrating emotive experience and thinking into a concerted approach to the improvement of reasoning and judgment. This second edition also shows how the community of inquiry can be utilized for the reduction of violence in the classroom and for the improvement of education of children at risk. The volume's abundant information about the varied approaches in the field of education makes it an invaluable resource for all teachers.
Philosophy Goes to School
Year Published: 1988
Examines the impact that elementary school philosophy has had upon the process of education. This sequel to Philosophy in the Classroom describes the contribution that training in philosophy can make in the teaching of values, and shows the applications of ethics in civics education.
Talking With Children
Year Published: 1983
Some conversations between parents and children break down quickly for no apparent reason; others go on seemingly forever, reaching no conclusion; still others appear to be direct and reasonable yet remain somehow unsatisfying. But Ronald Reed believes that some conversations are better than others. Once we realize what sorts of people we talk with when we talk with our children, and once we discover that different kinds of talk are meant to lead to different ends, then we can begin to build the talking relationships that will better the conversations we have with our children.
Philosophy and the Young Child
Year Published: 1980
Philosophy and the Young Child presents striking evidence that young children naturally engage in a brand of thought that is genuinely philosophical. In a series of exquisite examples that could only have been gathered by a professional philosopher with an extraordinary respect for young minds, Gareth Matthews demonstrates that children have a capacity for puzzlement and mental play that leads them to tackle many of the classic problems of knowledge, value and existence that have traditionally formed the core of philosophical thought.
Intellectual Growth in Young Children
Year Published: 1930
"Intellectual Growth in Young Children" is the first of a trilogy on the psychology of children, proposed by Susan Isaacs, which were to be based chiefly on her studies of young children at the Malting House School, Cambridge (England), between 1924 and 1927. This volume deals with her observations of the intellectual development of her children and shows how they progress in reasoning and the pursuit of knowledge