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The new school year is practically upon us – and for the first time in England and Wales, at least some primary school children can expect to get taught Philosophy as well as regular subjects from the National Curriculum.

This is according to a special new educational service provider, The Philosophy Shop, set up to deliver the challenges of Western philosophical thought to children in primary school from reception through to Year 6 (ages 4-11). The organisation – responsible for the ‘Philosophy in Primary Schools’ programme and for bringing philosophy to schools primarily in South-East London – has seen a marked increase in demand for its services and is extending the participation of philosophers in its training programme, as well as increasing the regional uptake of its services across the UK, as teachers and parents start recognising the powerful impact exposure to philosophical thinking brings to youngsters.

The Philosophy Shop provides training for qualified philosophers (graduates and postgraduates) on how to deliver philosophical insights to a classroom. The result: classes of primary school children are starting to think critically and ethically about themes that have occupied the greatest of minds since Plato 2,500 years ago.

Learning philosophy this young brings multiple benefits. Teachers and other education professionals report an increase in reasoning skills, with pupils saying they are learning how to approach problems more creatively, how to think more deeply, plus how to develop a train of thought and appreciate another point of view.

As Primary Teacher Eugene Romain at Grinling Gibbon’s School notes, “Children grow in confidence when they realise that the primary resource for the group is not regurgitated fact, but rather their own independent opinions. Their delight and absorption in coming to use their analytic skills is obvious, and their quick adaptation to the individuality and originality that real thinking requires is impossible to miss.

“They also widen their sense of the scope of thinking: it is notable how comfortable they become with the ambiguous, the open-ended and the unknown.”

"Philosophy is often not valued because it has no obvious vocational application, but it actually has multiple benefits - teaching children to think for themselves by giving them the tools to do that,” says The Philosophy Shop’s Director, Peter Worley. “And they're learning key skills in how to discuss and argue with people, becoming familiar with important adult themes as well as long words and complex, abstract reasoning.”

Pupils agree: "The best thing about philosophy is it really makes you think about all the possible answers"; "I learnt to be open-minded, and learnt about other people's points of view”; "I think philosophy helped me think quicker and helped me to explain my answers in a more detailed way,” being comments from recent 10 year olds exposed to The Philosophy Shop’s sessions.

“Quite frankly these sessions are clearly so empowering for them that I find myself wondering why on earth this type of education is not occurring simultaneously in every school in the country,” concludes Romain.

For more information about the ‘Philosophy in Primary Schools’ programme, its services across the UK, and to participate in its UK-wide training for qualified philosophers, visit www.thephilosophyshop.co.uk

ENDS

For further information contact Amanda Jane PR:
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Notes to Editors:

• The philosophy being talked about here is a formal guidance not simply an in-depth discussion. Children are not just encouraged to say what they are thinking or expressing their feelings; they are encouraged to explain why they are thinking it and to justify that why. This academic versus informal approach is defended in a recently published essay from philosophy in education expert Michael Hand (‘Can Children be Taught Philosophy?’, 2008).

• A study by Dundee University (2007) suggests that confronting such key philosophical debates as the nature of existence, ethics and knowledge can raise children's IQ by up to 6.5 points and improve emotional intelligence. The research also found that philosophy in schools promotes certain speaking and listening skills as well as sustained reasoning skills over time.

• Finally, UNESCO (2007) recently published a study looking at teaching philosophy at pre-school and primary levels: the report concluded that, "If there is a message to be conveyed by this study, it would certainly be that of exhorting us to consider the teaching of philosophy to be necessary and something to be reckoned with."

• The Philosophy Shop promotes the practical application of philosophy in the community. It supports and promotes the teaching of philosophy in primary school children, as well as philosophy summer schools, philosophy groups and philosophical counselling. The Philosophy Shop is committed to the fact that through the rational investigation of existence, ethics and knowledge children are able to realise lots of benefits, including raised IQ, raised self-confidence and improved emotional intelligence. The company provides training for qualified philosophers on how to practically employ philosophical methods in a classroom situation. The programme brings philosophy to bear on the national curriculum and teaches classes of primary school children to think critically and ethically about themes raised there. The Philosophy Shop also offers teachers training in how to enhance their teaching methods through philosophical techniques.


Contact Name: Amanda Burgess
Company: Amanda Jane PR
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