Philosophy 391E - S-Philosophy in Public Schools

In this course, we will strike a balance between discussing a variety of philosophical topics, thinking about what philosophy is and how best to practice it, and putting our theoretical work to practice by doing philosophy with kids in a school together. We'll begin the course by focusing on metaphilosophical and pedagogical readings, putting together a picture of what it is we're doing when we do philosophy and how we can do that best with children. Then we'll take that picture and put it to work, going into an elementary school together to do philosophy with children. A distinctive part of our pedagogical approach will be to use narratives as a guide to stimulating discussion. Students will discover just how much children are doing philosophy already and will learn how to be effective partners in that activity.