Questions children asked at the end of the morning’s workshop.
Children gathered from across the Thorpe High School Partnership at Little Plumstead to experience a time of thinking and exploring ideas together. Their ideas ranged from flying pigs to the nature of loneliness and true friendship. One girl said that she had enjoyed hearing the different points of view of all those present. Philosophy4Children would like to think that new friendships were also forged during this exciting time.
Our method of training teachers in using philosophy for children is very practical. Staff gain experience of the games and activities which are used to get children thinking, they also take part in an enquiry. This gives an invaluable insight into how a p4c session feels and this was picked up by several of the staff at the Norfolk school we have been working with recently:
” Really good to have a go at an investigation to understand how the children might feel.”
“Excellent! Very useful to go through a P4C lesson as the children would in order to feel what they do.”
“To feel how the children will feel is important.”
We had a very enjoyable morning at the University of East Anglia – meeting with the thinkers and planners! We are planning an exciting day with the Philosophy department in the Spring of 2015 – using Philosophy4Children as a method of introducing the idea of using philosophy from the cradle to the grave! We know young children can become hooked into using higher-order thinking at an early stage, in their approach to life, the universe and everything, and we want to encourage its use in depth through school and then at university.
Philosophy4Children headed off to Rayleigh for an early morning meeting, followed by a training session in Canterbury in the afternoon. We clocked up a lot of miles that day but were rewarded by the warmth and enthusiasm of the staff in both schools. At the end of the day staff were buzzing and saying that they couldn’t wait to get into their classrooms the next day and begin a philosophy session for themselves. In a subsequent email the head teacher wrote “I am pleased to say that FOUR teachers tried Philosophy the very next day and we are also the proud owners of a ‘Wonder Wall’ in year 5 & 6. Thank you!” This makes all the travelling so worth while.
“Warm and friendly – yet professional and efficient.”
This is one of the many comments about our presentation style following an Inset training session near Bristol at the start of the term. Here are some more:
“The leaders were very knowledgeable and clearly talking from experience.”
“Very knowlegeable. Explained concepts and potential pitfalls well.”
“Super, practical activities, lots of resouces and time for questions.”
“Very clear and interesting. Lots of variation – group work, discussion, film clips.”
During a celebration evening at Little Plumstead Church of England Primary School, hosted by the governors, parents were introduced to some of the work that their children are doing with Philosophy4Children. Quotes from the children involved in the P4C work created discussion and admiration from the parents who were there. One Year Four boy said that ideas are like bubbles that stay in your head and then burst at just the right moment. Another child commented on the fact that she enjoyed not always having to agree with her best friend. The quote that received a wry smile was the one in which a child said that he liked philosophy because “you don’t have to be tested in it”!
Here are some pictures from the evening. They show parents looking at the Philosophy4Children stand.
One of our schools using the enquiry approach to teaching and learning has received an Outstanding grade from Ofsted. Many years ago we presented an introduction to Philosophy for Children to Forncett St Peter Church of England Primary School. They went on to use this approach right across the curriculum and were rewarded by being awarded Outstanding by the Ofsted inspector. The lead inspector said that the school was a place where pupils loved to learn and where “they find lessons inspirational”! We are absolutely delighted at Philosophy4Children and send our warmest congratulations.
Here is some feedback from a recent training session carried out with teachers and support staff:
“Very impressed with both presentation and content. Very interesting to listen to and lots of useful tips and advice re starting this in school.”
“It gave good insight into how philosophy works and why we should use it in the curriculum.”
“Great ideas for allowing the children to expand their thoughts, increase their self esteem and mutual respect. Thank you.”
The cameras were rolling last week when we spent the morning fully immersed in philosophy with a Y4 class in a Norfolk school. The session was being filmed as part of an action research project we are working on with the headteacher, class teacher and support staff. We had a great time and the children did too, here is some feed back from the class teacher:
” Thank you both for last week. The children enjoyed the session… Had a mum catch me at the gate tonight to tell me how enthusiastic her daughter has been after last week – this is one of the quietest girls in the class!”
What do children think of philosophy and the thinking it provokes? Here are some quotes:
“Philosophy really helps because we wonder about different things, then we hear other opinions and that helps me work things out for myself” this from Frankie Y5.
Lewis aged 9 offered this: “I think God made a few things and they are the questions we can’t answer – or does everything have an answer?”
And from Y1, Jonathan said “Thinking is one of the main things in our life – if we didn’t think we wouldn’t be able to do anything”!