Philosophy in the classroom

Preface Part I: Encouraging Children to Be Thoughtful 1. The Need for Educational Redesign Educational Dysfunction * Failure of Remedial Approaches * Meeting Expectations * Discovery * Frustration * Meaningful Experiences * Need for Adventure * Meaning versus Rationality 2. Thinking and the School Curriculum The Child's Hunger for Meaning * Thinking Skillfully * Thinking Skills and Basic Skills * Thinking Skills and Other Academic Disciplines * The Relationship between Dialogue and Thinking * Thinking Well about Things That Matter 3. Philosophy: The Lost Dimension in Education Philosophy Begins in Wonder * Wonder and Meaning * Scientific Explanation * Symbolic Interpretation * Philosophical Investigation 4. Some Educational Presuppositions of Philosophy for Children Preserving the Integrity of Philosophy as a Discipline * Converting the Classroom into a Community of Inquiry * Preparing the Teacher and the Curriculum Part II: Aims and Methods of Philosophy for Children 5. The Philosophy for Children Curriculum Description of Curriculum * Aims and Objectives of Philosophy for Children * Improvement of Reasoning Ability * Development of Creativity * Personal and Interpersonal Growth * Development of Ethical Understanding * Development of the Ability to Find Meaning in Experience 6. Teaching Methodology: Value Considerations and Standards of Practice Getting Children to Think for Themselves * Conditions for Teaching Philosophical Thinking * Teaching Behavior Conductive to Helping Children Engage in Philosophical Thinking 7. Guiding a Philosophical Discussion Philosophy and the Strategies of Dialogue * Guiding a Classroom Discussion * The Role of Ideas in a Philosophical Dialogue * Fostering Philosophical Dialogue * Eliciting Views or Opinions * Helping Students Express Themselves: Clarification and Restatement * Explicating Students' Views * Interpretation * Seeking Consistency * Requesting Definitions * Searching for Assumptions * Indicating Fallacies * Requesting Reasons * Asking Students to Say How They Know * Eliciting and Examining Alternatives * Orchestrating a Discussion Part III: Applying Thinking Skills to School Experience 8. Encouraging Children to Be Logical Formal Logic as an Aid to Philosophical Thinking * Giving Reasons: The Good Reasons Approach * Acting Rationally * Conclusion 9. Can Moral Education Be Divorced from Philosophical Inquiry The Presumption of Rationality * Setting the Stage for Moral Growth * Socialization and Autonomy in Moral Education * Dangerous Dichotomies in Moral Education * What to Do to Help the Children Know What to Do * Imagination and Moral Education * Where to Begin * Why Moral Education Cannot Be Divorced form Philosophical Education * The Relationship between Logic and Morality * The Improvement of Moral Judgment 10. Philosophical Themes in Ethical Inquiry for Children The Relation of Logic to Ethics * Consistency * The Right and the Fair * Perfect and Right * Free Will and Determination * Natural * Change and Growth * Truth * Caring * Standards and Rules * Questions and Answers * Thinking and Thinking for Oneself in Ethical Inquiry Appendix A: The Reform of Teacher Education Appendix B: Experimental Research in Philosophy for Children Bibliography