PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN FJS Curriculum Evening

Are these apples dead or alive?

OUTLINE OF THE EVENING What is P4C? Why do P4C? What does P4C look like? Ground Rules How often do we do it? Demonstration

Is a broken down car parked?

What is Philosophy? The origin of the word philosophy come the greek words philos and sophy, whose literal translation is ‘the love of wisdom’. It is trying to work out our own best answers to questions that human beings will always be wondering about. For the purposes of FJS we have defined philosophy for children as a community of enquiry to help us make good judgements about what to think and what to do.

What If……. The sun never set on Fordingbridge again?

What If…. There were 28 hours in a day?

Why do Philosophy? To cultivate curiosity and give time to value and explore children’s questions To develop children’s thinking skills as useful life skills (important in the information revolution) To develop co-operative discussion and to teach children how to respectfully agree, disagree and challenge others’ ideas and opinions To encourage children to challenge and question rather than accept To help children come to well thought out judgements To enhance the quality of children’s speaking and listening skills To develop children’s self-confidence and self-esteem by valuing and building on their ideas. Philosophy has no right or wrong answer. To create the opportunity to engage in deep learning To stimulate higher levels of creativity Employers want creative thinkers who can think on their feet and adapt to a rapidly changing world.

What is ½ of love?

In P4C the role of the teacher is not as a dispenser of information, but rather as a facilitator of learning.

The typical structure of a P4C session is as follows: Warm-up activity (for examples see below) Presentation of a stimulus – this could be a story (or part of), a poem, a picture or photograph, a song or an artefact. The teacher presents the stimulus so all children can see, hear and engage with it Paired discussion or individual reflection to decide on a question they would like to ask about the stimulus The teacher scribes each question on a flipchart or whiteboard and puts the children’s name by it The children vote on the most interesting question, preferably anonymously The teacher facilitates a philosophical discussion to explore that question

How do you know whether you are dreaming or awake?

Ground Rules for P4C Give everyone a turn at speaking Don’t interrupt when someone else is talking Give support and help them add things Don’t say anything mean, stupid or unpleasant If people don’t want to say anything they don’t have to. Don’t laugh unkindly at something someone has said Think before you ask a question

Children are encouraged to use certain speaking frames to promote thinking/ respect for others’ views: I think……………..because…….. I agree with……….because……. I disagree with………..because…….. I would like to ask……(name of child)………… I would like to add to what….(name of child)said……..

How often do we do P4C? Twice a half-term as pure P4C Once a half-term as a cross-curricular input

Demonstration time