Philosophy With (and for) Children | (K-12)

What makes a good friend? Should you be afraid of slides? Would you offer someone broccoli if they liked it?

Today, we’re talking about what it’s like to do philosophy with–and for–children. We'll hear from experts in the field, from people who facilitate philosophical discussions with kids, and from a specialist in child development. And we’ll think about questions like:

• What do we owe kids, when it comes to philosophical thinking?

• What about us grownups? Have we gotten worse at wondering? Do we owe ourselves more philosophy?

• And, are kids naturally philosophical?

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This is the last episode of the Ethics and Education podcast, at least for now. After ten years, we are winding down the Center for Ethics and Education, and we are so grateful for your engagement with our work. We hope you’ll continue to listen to the podcast and use the teaching guides. Thanks for doing this with us. 

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We recommend:

• You Can’t Say You Can’t Play by Vivian Paley

  • Writeup in The Auntie Bulletin by Lisa Sibbett (CEE fellowship alum) (2025)

  • This American Life: Human Nature, The View from Kindergarten (1996)

• The Philosophical Baby, by Alison Gopnik

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Practitioners we admire:

• Aaron Yarmel (Ohio State Center for Ethics and Human Values)

• Maughn Gregory (Montclair State)

  • Thinking in Stories

• Megan Laverty (Columbia Teacher’s College)

• Dustin Webster (Notre Dame Institute for Social Concerns)

• Jana Mohr Lone (University of Washington)

• Cynthia Burnson (Chapin Hall)

• PLATO

• IAPC (Montclair State)

• Prindle Institute for Ethics (DePauw University)

• P4C Resources

• Philosophy Foundation

• Amy Reed Sandoval (University of Nevada Las Vegas)

• ⁠P4C Hawaii⁠

This episode was produced, written, and edited by Jennifer McCord and Carrie Welsh. Additional production help from Aaron Yarmel and Ann Trinh.

Episode created with funds from the Spencer Foundation.