Philosophy in Classrooms and Beyond

Reviews / Votes

The contribution of Philosophy in Classrooms and Beyond New Approaches to Picture-Book Philosophy edited byThomas E. Wartenberg is significant to our understanding of the process of philosophical thinking among young children, while contributing to critical, creative and caring thinking. The authors of the chapters present in a very unique way not only their own experience but also important insights which contribute to the branching study on the importance of philosophy with children and philosophy with learners throughout the world. The various contributions to this book discuss a variety of programs that have been influenced by the Big Ideas for Little Kids Program. All of the creators of these programs have picked and chosen among the Program's Big Ideas to develop their own innovative programs. The uniqueness of this profound book is mainly because we get the opportunity to hear the voices of practitioners who are also researchers, and especially the voices of the children - a voice of curiosity, a voice of depth and voice of the love of wisdom. -- Arie Kizel, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa (Israel); President, ICPIC (International Council of Philosophical Inquiry with Children) Tom Wartenberg's Big Ideas for Little Kids Program has inspired many other creative programs that bring the delights of philosophical wondering to young and not-so-young people in the community. This illuminating edited collection explores the success stories, along with their challenges, of bringing philosophy into spaces which previously lacked sustained critical and ethical reflection, along with any expectation that children may be able to participate in such an activity. The inspiring narratives herein demonstrate that from the springboard of curiosity, supported by careful reasoning and compassionate listening, not only can the power of philosophy be harnessed within groups, but it may be directed toward real world puzzles. More initiatives such as these need to be supported, as well as documented, and this book offers an excellent blueprint for exactly that. -- Laura D'Olimpio, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, The University of Notre Dame Australia; Chairperson, The Federation of Australasian Philosophy in Schools Associations; Co-editor Journal of Philosophy in Schools In bringing philosophy to preschool through middle school classrooms, school boards, and NGOs, the contributors to this book demonstrate the strength and adaptability of Tom Wartenberg's program of picture book philosophy. Perhaps even more striking than the glimpses the book provides into the philosophical depth of children are the ways in which the adults working with them come to new understandings of democracy, childhood, education and philosophy. Followers of the pioneering work of Gareth Matthews on philosophy in children's literature, of Ann Margaret Sharp on the classroom community of inquiry, and of Matthew Lipman on philosophy in education will be delighted and informed by the varied and ingenious ways the contributors to this book have extended their legacy, guided by Wartenberg's unique philosophical expertise and practical wisdom. -- Maughn Rollins Gregory, Professor of Educational Foundations and Director of the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children at Montclair State University