Description

In 2013, the Philosophy for Children Fellowship Program for graduate students was established at the University of Washington. These fellowships are open to graduate students in the Department of Philosophy or the College of Education.

Fellows are involved primarily in the Center’s “Philosophers in the Schools” program, which sends UW graduate and undergraduate students into Seattle K-12 schools to lead philosophy sessions, as well as the Washington State High School Ethics Bowl and other related activities.

Each Philosophy for Children fellowship is currently $4,000.

Fellow Responsibilities

  1. Enrollment in our fall quarter course (PHIL 205, Philosophy for Children, taken as PHIL 584), our winter quarter course (PHIL 205, Philosophy for Children Practicum, taken as PHIL 584), and our spring graduate Philosophical Inquiry in Schools course,  PHIL 595.
  2. Involvement in teaching philosophy in Seattle schools and mentoring undergraduate students involved in the “Philosophers in the Schools” program.
  3. Participation in the Washington State High School Ethics Bowl, including helping to organize the event and attendance and involvement at the competition.

Total time commitment is expected to be an average of 5 hours per week (not including attendance in the philosophy for children courses) for the three quarters of the academic year.

Apply Online

Instructions & Application

The fellowship application process consists of the following:

  1. Please submit a one-page statement describing your interest in being involved in the “Philosophers in the Schools” program. Please include complete and current contact information. Experience in philosophy, K-12 teaching or philosophy for children is not required for this fellowship.
  2. Each applicant should attach to his or her statement one letter of support from a faculty member in the applicant’s department who can speak to the student’s suitability for this fellowship. If you are not yet at UW, please submit a letter of support from a faculty member at another institution.

Deadline

All application materials must be submitted electronically each year by May 20.

 

2017-18 Fellows

Natalie Janson


College of Education

Natalie Janson is a graduate student in the Social & Cultural Foundations of Education program in the College of Education. She is a certified K-8 teacher, with experience in third grade where she facilitated philosophical discussions with her students. She loves seeing students think critically and creatively about real world issues, and hopes that doing so will allow them to live their best lives.

Nic Jones


Department of Philosophy

Nic Jones is a first year Philosophy Ph.D. student. They are currently working as a TA in an introductory philosophy of science course, and before attending UW, they spent four years teaching as an SI leader at the University of Michigan-Dearborn in a variety of subjects including psychology, sociology, economics, and statistics. Nic’s greatest joy when teaching is seeing students break out of rote memorization and start to think critically about whatever topic is at hand.

Jordan Sherry-Wagner


College of Education

Jordan Sherry-Wagner is a Ph.D. student in the College of Education and co-supervising director of a local early learning center. Broadly, his research aims at generating axiological change how we think about childhood development and education toward increased recognition and resources for the field. To him, there are few things as important and fulfilling as working with young learners to develop critical thinking skills, humanistic values, and philosophical dispositions. He is currently working on several intertwined projects that collectively work toward decolonizing human-nature relations in public science education, creating a modern instantiation of progressive early education through his early learning center, and studying the impact of increasingly complex technologies on culture, learning, and development. 

Christina Zaccagnino


College of Education

Christina Zaccagnino is a Master's student in Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education, where she specializes in science education. Before attending UW, she spent three years teaching middle school science and building a STEM program at a private school in Brooklyn, NY. She was the director of a STEM summer camp for grades K-6. Her undergraduate degree in is Teaching Chemistry. Christina appreciates when the "why" questions show up in the science classroom and enjoys openly exploring them with students. She looks forward to her involvement with the Philosophy for Children program.