P4C (Philosophy for kids)

Philosophy for Children, or P4C, is a method of teaching and learning that focuses on developing thinking skills within a group or "community of enquiry". Often taking an unusual theme as a focus, P4C aims to help children to think for themselves and benefit from the thinking of others.
It is an approach to developing children’s thinking skills which also supports and enhances skills of speaking, listening and collaboration. It lends itself especially well to inclusive, mixed-ability, low-threat and high-challenge learning environments, since it manages simultaneously to engage and to extend the thinking of gifted/talented and less able learners of all ages.

In P4C the group of children decide which subject they will work on, given a stimulus ( a story, a poem, a news item). The early discussion, where everyone is heard and no-one is criticised for their opinion, leads to the area that will be looked at in detail. The kids get initial guidance in the kinds of thinking we do - questions that you can ask, which include questions that have a single answer, those where the answers can be gained from experience, to those which are based on aesthetics or morals. It's really scary, because it can go anywhere. But the thinking that results can be wonderful. (There are books on it and some counties use it regularly in schools - Northamptonshire use it as a matter of course).

For more information please watch this video

This is a great concept, and pretty much what Camp Quest is trying to achieve! We are lucky enough to have a former teacher, Dianna, who is P4C trained, on our team.

Some P4C videos on Youtube


An Interview with Thomas Jackson, P4C Specialist

The first vid reminded me of the moral dilemma that Dawkins describes in The God Delusion, about the people on the train line.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WyOwyBIDUMY

This video is cute as a button. The kids are a bit younger than CQ kids though.