Philosophy for Children

Philosophizing with children is teaching argumentative and general cognitive abilities of children, and is one object of the didactics of philosophy. It also referred to a corresponding movement that began in the U.S. in the 1970s. The same designation used in the state of Mecklenburg -Western Pomerania for the school subject that is taught as a substitute for professional religion from the first to the tenth grade. Philosophizing with children is also a psychological method to obtain information about the cognitive and moral development of children or adolescents. As a founder of this method is to call Jean Piaget, the " clinical interviews " conducted with children of all ages.

  • 3.1 Contents
  • 3.2 Methodological tools 3.2.1 Books
  • 3.2.2 paint pictures
  • 3.2.3 helmet - trick
  • 3.3.1 Learning Objectives
  • 3.3.2 discussion climate
  • 3.3.3 Interlocutor
  • 3.3.4 feelings in conversation
  • 4.1 General
  • 4.2 classic
  • 4.3 launches

History

Kant

Immanuel Kant recommends in his ethical teaching at the end of the Metaphysics of Morals, the Socratic dialogue method as a teaching method. " A method of teaching in which the children of their own accord, without being instructed by the teacher, (...) judge. " " He rejects a teaching " by peeled general formulas "and proposes instead to rely on the moral experiences of the children. "He wants the children think for themselves, to philosophize.

Progressive Education

In Wilhelmine high school there was no own philosophy lessons. Only since 1900, there were again cast as Rudolf Lehmann and Alfred Rush, who proposed its own propaedeutic compartment. Due to the identity crisis of the First World War, these so 1919 Ernst Hoffmann and August increased diameter. On the Reich School Conference 1920, the demand for ideological education was indeed applause and later authoritative supporters as the politicians of the school DVP, Hans Richert. But remained mainly the Catholic Church and the Centre Party, however, because they recognized a competition for religious instruction. So it remained in Prussia, unlike, for example, Württemberg in study groups in high school.

Now employed in Germany for the first time of intensive reform pedagogues of the philosophy of children. 1922 wrote the reform educator Herman Nohl an essay titled The philosophy in school. " Nohl represents [e ] with the children of the first four primary classes, but also for already four years old, a ' metaphysical thinking ' or ' philosophical astonishment ' fixed (...). Nohl was of the opinion that philosophy in elementary school should best take place in the overall teaching by treating ' topics [n ] from the field of experience of the children.'

In the secondary level, however, he recommended in individual subjects itemized lessons. Should be Philosophized specialist ' life skills ', comparable to today's ethics classes. " He developed didactic considerations to promote this thinking. In this concept builds on philosophizing with children.

The German National Hans quiet course and Rudolf Odebrecht set up a journal Philosophy and School (1929-1934), Arthur Liebert 1929, the Society for philosophical propaedeutic. The objectives of the lesson should be in a vague idealization of the learner.

Matthew Lipman and Gareth Matthews

The first elaboration of a philosophy program was held in the United States. End of the 1960s, operational Matthew Lipman intensive studies for philosophizing with children. In 1974 he founded the " Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children" ( IAPC ) at Montclair State University (New Jersey). The institute's work to date philosophical children's books for the school classroom. For each age group there are philosophical- parent stories with manuals for teachers.

Since the 1970s, philosophizing with children in Germany wins " especially in ethics and philosophy of teaching elementary school and lower secondary education is becoming increasingly important ." Since 1999, the movement is also supported by UNESCO. According to UNESCO, together with children to think about their " What -is- the - question " is the core of philosophizing with children.

Directions

There are some slightly different directions of philosophizing with children.

  • Philosophy for children ( Matthew Lipman: " P4C "; Daniela Camhy: " Philosophy for Children " )
  • Philosophy with Children ( Ekkehard Martens, Barbara Brüning, Michael Siegmund )
  • Philosophizing of children ( Gareth B. Matthews)
  • Thinking with children ( Kerstin Michalik, Helmut Schreier, Hans -Joachim Müller)
  • Clinical interviews and individual interviews with children ( Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg, Robert Selman, and Germany, among others Gertrude Nunner -Winkler and Renate Valtin, etc.).

The names of the various approaches already suggest certain directions, but can also lead to misunderstandings. Lipman called " Philosophy for Children" ( P4C, " Philosophy for Children " ) makes the claim clearly didactic, but is not as a mere reduction in "real" to understand philosophy. Matthews ' " Philosophical conversations with children " and Martens ' name ' philosophizing with children " ( PMK ) refer to a dialogical and pragmatic philosophy didactics.

The world's most common direction of the " Philosophy for Children " is " Philosophy for Children" ( P4C ). This philosophy for kids designs its own canon of science to be taught philosophical content. This canon is a priori set, where as an essential feature of philosophical thought, the synthetic thinking is emphasized, ie the ability to think in logical- discursive terms. The " Philosophy with Children " ( PMK ) will focus the next exercise in the logical- argumentative thinking to creative thinking. The creative thinking in the philosophical context of teaching to provide means an extension of the traditional understanding of philosophy as a concept are discursive, unique characters. The creative thinking produces presentative, ambiguous characters, which serve the philosophical thinking of the children should be allowed a further expression.

None of the directions of philosophizing with children whether it " philosophy for children " approach or the more pragmatic dialogue - oriented school of " philosophizing with children " is the logical- argumentative school, can and will provide functional knowledge. The creative approach of the PMK puts the accent within the philosophizing with children in the search and the expression of interpretations. In search of meaning the children characters or symbols, in turn, provide the opportunity form to search for new interpretations. These are so-called presentational symbols, reference points for further reflection in addition to the discursive symbols. Philosophizing with children is a symbolization - a character -building process essentially. The developmental studies show that the concepts of the children meet their cognitive development.

Methodology

Content

Occasion for philosophizing may be even children's questions, but philosophical conversations can also be excited by the teacher. The content depends on the experience and event world of children. These can be divided into the four Kantian questions in the philosophy of scholars divided in his lectures on logic in 1804:

  • What can I know? - Epistemology, Philosophy of Language
  • What should I do? - Ethics, utopias, the art of living
  • What may I hope? - Religion and Metaphysics
  • What is man? - Anthropology

The factual issues for philosophizing in elementary school should be consistent with the child's real life and the interests of children. For philosophizing should phenomena that allow multi-layered and ambiguous aspects and points of view, can be selected. In addition, subjects offer that are appropriate to the specifics of the class situation.

Popular questions in elementary school, for example, are " What is happiness? ", The question of friendship and infinity. In developmental psychology there are various studies on moral dilemmas. or to social and moral concepts that are important for children in their everyday lives, such as friendship, lies, penalties

Methodological tools

The methods of philosophizing with children either serve to stimulate and promote the logical argumentative thinking and on the other the encouragement and support of creative thinking.

: Amongst others, picture books, short stories ( P. Jaspersen, Denmark) Science Fiction (E. Matthews, GB), philosophical texts ( H.-L. Freese, Berlin) or specially written for children philosophy books (especially by Lipman ( Pixie Harry Stottelmeiers discoveries and others) ). There are many children's books with philosophical content. Some children's books are explicitly created to appeal to philosophical issues, but also picture books without explicitly philosophical issue can stimulate thought and philosophy. In contrast to philosophy novels like " Sophie's World " by Jostein Gaarder that make philosophy directly to the subject of children's and youth book, many books on concrete issues and problems of a particular topic can usher into his own philosophy. Picture books offer not only content and language in addition images as layers of philosophical reception. The inclusion of the aesthetic is not only a special charm from a philosophical perspective, but also the challenge to become more than the language to engage in the possibilities childlike reception.

Paint pictures

Psychologists have found that we are equal both symbolically and visually and action- based thinking. Communication happens not only through language but also through gestures, facial expressions, colors, shapes etc, even before the acquisition of written language, children sit by scribbling with their environment apart. Therefore, there is a drawing to reflect on concepts, the approach with children. In the pictures you can distinguish between specific ( representational ) and abstract level. The visual philosophy promotes children's ability to generalize, to recognize relationships and substantial. It allows the emergence of different talents and puts into perspective the dominant role of the adult.

Helmet - trick

The method of this discussion,

Learning Objectives

The class discussion can have different goals:

  • Improve language and cognitive development
  • Development of creativity
  • Promoting personal and social development
  • Promote tolerance

Most importantly the educators is to promote independent thinking, personal development and the emergence forming social skills. Through child-centered conversations and the communication of children should be promoted among themselves. By reflecting, reflection and self- voicing, students can " play an active role in the shaping of curricular learning processes. Just conversations are best suited to the fact that children can contribute their ideas, experiences, opinions and feelings about issues. "

Discussion climate

After a conversation Riemann climate is necessary, in which each child feels

  • " That his thoughts and opinions are asked about,
  • That it is both interesting and a 'need concentrated listen to each other, so you can complement each other, or correct,
  • That one may express doubts, concerns, funny,
  • That one can criticize, without being resented,
  • That one has the right to ask questions, to work together to find answers. "

Interlocutor

The teacher directs or moderates the philosophizing of the children. The teacher gives an impetus, together with the children discussion rules, then runs but back. So that the children really talk, discuss, philosophize, the children call each other out, reported will be by show of hands. The presentation of a philosophical discussion with children includes:

  • Restraint
  • The scaling back of initial expectations: it is (only ) is to support the process, the students do not philosophize same.
  • Steering anticipate without results: focus / draw attention (eg through a thought experiment )
  • Systematic, but results open approach ( " from A to B")
  • " Therapeutic " formulations
  • Summary
  • Reflection

Feelings in conversation

Bruning is of the opinion that emotions can not be replaced by arguments. She tries to bring about a balance between positive and negative feelings. The children should be given the option about their feelings - whether negative or positive - to speak. Bruning wants the children themselves "a certain development of their feelings find [ and learn ] not only their own interests, goals and desires ( ... ) enforce, but also to respect those of others ."

Philosophy education Wilhelminism German People's Party Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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