Archive for March 31st, 2008
Philosophy for Children – P4C
At the recent Able Gifted and Talented Conference in Derby, I met some pupils from Chellaston Junior School who did a super presentation about the philosophy they had been doing back at school.
I asked them a few questions and here are their really excellent and thoughtful answers:
“Four members of our class attended the conference and spoke about the work we’ve been doing on P4C. Tim asked the following questions and after much discussion, this is what we thought:
What if mountains were dogs?
The earth would shake violently.
They wouldn’t fit in your house.
It would be really hard to walk the dog.
I’d hate to see the mess they leave behind.
There would be enormous fleas.
They’d crush your house.
You’d have to buy a massive kennel.
People would die if they stamped on them.
They’d scare the cats away.
Mountain climbers wouldn’t know whether they were climbing a mountain or a dog.
Use the dog’s tail as a slide.
It would drag you along on walks.
They’d smash and ruin towns and cities.
How does P4C help us in our other lessons?
It helps us to think of strange things for a story.
It helps our imagination to run wild when we’re drawing.
It helps us to think of better questions.
It allows us to think about what it’s like for other people, not just ourselves.
It makes us think about what would be the right thing to do.
It has shown us the importance of thinking”.
Well done all!
As Confucius said: If your plan is for one year, plant rice; If your plan is for ten years, plant trees; If your plan is for one hundred years, educate the children.
As well as our events, we like to share interesting, and more often than not, FREE tools, resources and ideas, some old, some new, and we hope you might find something useful. We'd love your thoughts. Tim & Sarah
