Philosophy4Children Blog: 2010
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Dot Lenton
on 4 December 2010 at 11:41
One of the most important aspects of the training we
offer is that it is tailored exactly to the needs of each
school we visit. We recently returned to a school we first
worked with a couple of years ago and found them still
passionate about philosophy. As there were several teachers
new to the school we split into two groups - Dot lead one
group through what philosophy is and, just as important, what
it is not! The second group, who had been using
philosophy for some time, looked at the role of
facilitator and developing questioning techniques.
Feedback from both groups was very positive "...lots of
good ideas on questioning to extend children" and, from
a teacher new to philosophy, "I would feel confident
holding a philosophy session after this training
session".
Dot Lenton
on 29 November 2010 at 12:19
Visiting the Henley partnership schools proved interesting,
if somewhat crowded. All fifty of us were packed into the ICT
suite - kindly provided by the high school. However trying to
have eye contact with all members of the group was a real
challenge! The staff demonstrated that they are keen to
extend and continue their work in listening skills with their
pupils. Although we were a large group in a smallish
space, we just about managed to split into two for the
experiential workshops. It was difficult not to overhear, and
become distracted by, what the others were saying - so a
lesson for us in future is to make sure that the venue is big
enough! We were warmly welcomed and one member of staff said
of the session: "Yes it was very useful. I think my own
philosophy for learning is very similar to the ethos of this
session."
Barbara Vidion
on 1 November 2010 at 10:22
How exciting to hear of the importance of primary
school philosophy on Radio 4 Woman's Hour this week
(27/10/10). A philosophy student at Warwick University
talked about how her interest in philosophy started as a
child when she explored questions such as "why am I me
and not someone else" with her friend - showing how
natural this thinking in children and how important
it is to encourage and develop it. The two guests on the
programme, Dr Angie Hobbs and Professor Helen Beebee had
both seen philosophy with primary children at work
"Absolutely inspirational" was the verdict of Dr
Hobbs after witnessing 8 and 9 year olds in a critical
thinking skills session led by SAPERE exploring the
difference between wants and needs. "Marvellous,
philosophy really teaches you how to think about things for
yourself" was the comment from Professor Beebeee.
Dot Lenton
on 5 October 2010 at 18:46
After working in a summer school for gifted and talented
pupils in a Suffolk High School we received some encouraging
feedback - particularly from the pupils. One year 6 girl
said: "The philosophy session today was really
interesting because it made me think more than usual about
every-day life, about all the opportunities there are to
stretch myself and think about something I haven't
thought about before." One of the teachers said that it
made the students stop and think more deeply about the topics
we introduced and "it was interesting to see how they
dealt with questions that have no right answers". The
Assistant Headteacher was so impressed with the way in which
the pupils had responded to the challenging questioning that
she is considering how it can be successfully incorporated
into the school curriculum.
The school also rated the content as "excellent".
For presentation the assistant headteacher wrote:
"Professional delivery in a manner that both encouraged
and engaged our students." It was a very enjoyable
experience for us too.
Dot Lenton
on 10 September 2010 at 12:14
It was very exciting to work with a school that has a strong
mission to get all its children thinking really hard! The
staff at Swaffham Infant School are a dedicated group who are
keen to give their children time to listen, reflect and
respond. During the first session we talked briefly about the
history of P4C - particularly looking at examples of how easy
it is to dismiss children's thoughts and ideas without
really pursuing them.
Later in our experiential session we talked about how modern
living can have a negative impact on exploration. One member
of staff wrote to us and said,
"I just wanted to say a big thank you for the training you
gave today at Swaffham Infant School.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and found the whole concept
fascinating. I really do hope that all schools will start using
philosophy for children, for all ages. I think it would benefit
young people immensely.
Thank you again for a truly interesting training session."
Barbara Vidion
on 23 August 2010 at 19:57
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."
Barbara Vidion
on 23 August 2010 at 19:51
"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!
Barbara Vidion
on 9 August 2010 at 21:42
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!
Dot Lenton
on 1 June 2010 at 13:22
A very exciting, and excitable, group of teachers met at
Woodside Infant and Nursery School in Hethersett last week.
They have been pioneers in using philosophy for children in
the classroom and wanted to see how that could move their
children on into even deeper thinking. Philosophy4Children
were able to help! We looked at the art of questioning itself
and considered the tools that the facilitator needs to do
this successfully. We also considered the nature of the
questions themselves - how children's open imaginative
questions can move into the philosophical. We looked at the
way in which children's questions can cover all aspects
of philosophical thought. Their questions range from the
ethical (right and wrong) right through the social and
political (rights and laws) spectrum to the epistemological
(does science give us the right answers?) through to
aesthetics and logic. We had a good session and staff seemed
fired up to move on to the next level!!
Dot Lenton
on 24 April 2010 at 11:13
Philosophy4Children spent a very enjoyable day delivering
training to Rockland and Surlingham Schools. The schools have
recently formed a partnership. The head teacher and her staff
are wanting to work together and are keen to embed
Philosophy4Children into their curriculum. Everyone took part
enthusiastically and, after a technical hiccup at the start,
the day went smoothly. Some staff have experience in this
method of teaching, and for some it was a new approach. We
began by asking three questions:
Why do children come to school?
What does it mean to learn?
Do we need to teach in order for children to learn?
This started some lively discussions before we went into
learning mode ourselves. We thoroughly enjoyed working with
the group and from comments at the end it seems to have been
a very productive day.
Dot Lenton
on 2 February 2010 at 12:01
Move forward button on our calendar to June to find out more
about the exciting conference taking place at Barnham Broom
with the School of Creativity. The day will be led by
well-known speakers Chris Watkins and Luke Abbott. Not only
will there be opportunities to learn about the inquiry
curriculum, but also a chance to speak to children from a
school who are using the Mantle of the Expert approach to
learning. Should be an exciting and rewarding day.
Delegates should sign up for the conference by emailing
office@surlingham.norfolk.sch.uk
Barbara Vidion
on 26 January 2010 at 19:17
Following the staff training we did at the school in Norwich,
we returned a week later to carry out demonstration
philosophy4children lessons throughout the school. Dot and I
were delighted to find that some teachers, during the
week between our visits, had run a philosophical enquiry
with their classes!
We had a great day in the eight classes (Years 3 to 6).
Children, teachers and support staff were all very
enthusiastic, here are some of the staff comments:
"It allowed me to see a teachable structure with a
class, how time needs to be given for pupils to formulate
their answers, how children respond to each other and their
ideas."
"Excellent modelling of flow of a session. It allowed me
to pay attention to the class and listen to their
ideas."
"Clear expectations set out to the children. I liked the
content and the re-focusing techniques and questions"
"It helped children to think about their behaviour and
how they should talk to each other."
Barbara Vidion
on 12 January 2010 at 18:39
It has been a vey busy start to the term for
Philosophy4Children with more and more schools asking for
training in how to use and develop philosophy with their
children. Monday saw us working in a large junior school in
Norwich with a very enthusiastic staff group. We are looking
forward vey much to going back next week and spending the
whole day working with the children.
Dot Lenton
on 7 January 2010 at 20:09
On a snowy morning in North Norfolk we had an excellent
session working with a large group of enthusiastic primary
school teachers and teaching assistants. Once we had the
technology working everything went well! The focus of the
training was looking at the way in which Philosophy4Children
can be utilised to improve children's writing. It was
excellent to revisit this work, as it formed part of the
action research that Barbara and I had undertaken for the
Thinking Schools, Thinking Children project initiated by
Norfolk Local Education Authority. The staff were not short
of ideas which ranged from diary writing to hot seating and
play scripts.