What Are Philosophical Skills and How Do They Fit With the Characteristics of Effective Learning?4/19/2019 So let us finally get down to the nitty gritty and look at what philosophical skills are and, importantly, what philosophy is. It is important to say at this point that Philosophy for Children is NOT teaching children about philosophy. They do not need to know the works of Plato or even know who Socrates is. They most certainly do not need to know about the different strands or history of philosophy. For your background knowledge I have included some of that information in this website but for the sake of the children – don’t even go there! Rather than being an academic subject Philosophy for Children is a pedagogic approach to teaching (and, if you wanted it to be, parenting). But I am getting ahead of myself. Let us start with the basics. What is ‘philosophy’?
The Philosophy Foundation attempt to explain; “Philosophy is a way of thinking about certain subjects such as ethics, thought, existence, time, meaning and value. That 'way of thinking' involves 4 Rs: responsiveness, reflection, reason and re-evaluation. The aim is to deepen understanding. The hope is that by doing philosophy we learn to think better, to act more wisely, and thereby help to improve the quality of all our lives.” Who wouldn’t want that? An improved quality of life sounds very appealing. So to break that down it seems that philosophy is a ‘way’ of thinking. Not a study of specific philosophers or a deep dive academic research study, but simply a way of thinking – a way of trying to understand the world. Let’s look at a different way of trying to pin down what philosophical skills might be, this time in a child’s world. A philosophical way of thinking supports a child in maintaining focus, showing high levels of fascination, paying attention to details, showing a belief that more effort or a different approach will work, enjoying meeting challenges for their own sake rather than praise, showing curiosity about objects, events and people, using their senses to explore the world, engaging in open ended activities, seeking challenges, taking a risk, learning by trial and error, thinking of ideas, finding new ways to solve problems, making links and noticing patterns in their experience, testing their ideas and changing strategy as needed. A very long sentence but some inspiring ideas eh? Well unfortunately I can’t claim them as my own. In fact I probably should have put them in quotation marks because these are not skills found in the documents of any philosophical society but instead those found in a document most of us use every day, and the savvy of those among you will have spotted them as such. These are the ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’ that are found in the Department for Education guidance - Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage. For want of a better word, and for anyone not reading as a UK practitioner, this is the closest we get to an Early Years curriculum. It is almost liberating, for anyone hoping to introduce a philosophical thinking approach, therefore to see that this approach fits in so well with what we are already trying to do. How many of the activities that we do every day fit into so many of the different areas of the Characteristics of Effective Learning all at once? Not many! Having looked at that list it should also start to become apparent that a philosophical approach to thinking can help academically in all areas, from literacy and the arts to mathematics and science. These are transferable skills to all areas of life and all areas of academics. SAPERE, the national charity that supports the implementation of Philosophy for Children in the UK, promote Philosophy for Children as helping children to develop their confidence, self-esteem, resilience, teamwork, problem solving skills and the ‘4Cs’ (creativity, critical thinking, collaborative working and caring). Along with promoting these 4Cs in each Philosophy for Children session (something which I will guide you through step by step later in this book) facilitators encourage these skills in every area of the curriculum in addition to having ’Community Guidelines’ (rules or steps to success for the sessions).
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AuthorMiss Magical Mess is a pre-school teacher and P4C Level 2B facilitator. After a shaky start as a P4C facilitator (P4C with 3 year olds... are you kidding?) Miss Magical Mess created her own approach to P4C and enquiry model and is now a big fan. Archives |