A Year 6 teacher said to me the other day that she would be “relying quite heavily on Philosophy for Children (P4C)” when she gets back to teaching, as the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown begins to ease. “That’s how we talk,” she said, “and they’ll really need an opportunity to talk after what’s happened.”
Our Year 1 colleague agreed that giving children plenty of structured opportunities to talk will be an essential element in the return to school. Some may have had few high-quality conversations, and many will have missed face-to-face verbal interaction with peers.
We agreed that we need to be cautious, though. Lots of children will have had a positive experience of lockdown, and the last thing they need is for teachers to suggest possible anxieties of isolation, loneliness, illness, etc. On the other hand, some children will have had difficult moments, and opportunities for enquiry into sensitive topics will be important.
P4C is not a mental health intervention – however, it is good for mental health. Here are some thoughts from teachers:
P4C provides community – we are doing it together, as a class family. Pupils look forward to it and will benefit from doing something familiar that they love.
P4C opens up new possibilities and broadens horizons. It can give children a wider view of the world.
Being so invested in thinking about something will help take their minds off other stresses that may have occurred.
Doing philosophical enquiries allows children to be more analytical, to think about how they think, and to wonder if they could choose to think differently.
I suggest frequent philosophy sessions with a mix of stimuli. You could alternate between one that is completely unrelated to the current situation, one which some children may relate to it, and one which is more directly related.
Here is a brilliant resource, written for parents, which will also be of great value to schools going forward: Children’s big questions during the COVID-19 crisis (a themed list of picture books from the University of Washington Centre for Philosophy for Children)
Online P4C training is now available. Get in touch for details.