When we delivered p4c today we took along an observer, this is her feedback after watching the session.
“Excellent presentation. I gained an enormous insight into the way in which children think. It helped me to evaluate my own practice as a teacher and review preconceived ideas that I have. Very thought provoking.”
“I cdnuol’t blveiee taht I cluod aclaltuy uesdnatrd waht I was rdgnaeig. The phaonmnael pweor fo the hmuan mnid!” This was the starting point for our work today with two groups of gifted and talented young people (Y6, 7 and 8) at a summer school in Suffolk. This led to very animated thinking! One group explored the capacity of the human mind and what we mean when we speak of “self”. The second group puzzled over what language is and the conventions we have and how they have developed. Dot and I had a great time and our thinking was definitely stretched!
At Philosophy4Children we often work with groups of adults who are keen to explore how to use philosophy with children in their school. Last week we were delighted to work with quite a different group of adults who had no connection to a school at all. The Erasmus Foundation. in rural Suffolk, invited us to guide them through a philosophy session. They were interested to discover how philosophy could be integrated into their group and their meetings. We had a wonderful evening and were treated to a delightful supper into the bargain. We are beginning to see many possibilities of using philosophy beyond schools!