Adventures in Authentic Teaching and Learning
To me, there isn’t much to see that is worth getting on a plane for 14 hours. But I’ve just returned froma week in Hawaii during which I learned about a pedagogy developed at the University of Hawaii called
Philosophy for Children Hawaii (p4cHI). I was first introduced to this program at the National Council for
the Social Studies conference last November, and after hearing Dr. Amber Strong Makaiau speak, felt
compelled to learn more. What exactly did I hear? I heard about a pedagogy that is grounded in acommunity of intellectual safety, where teachers and students are co-inquirers in authentic explorationof meaningful content. Through their exploration, students acquire and practice the tools ofphilosophical inquiry – the “good thinkers toolkit” that provides the framework for making meaning of
the topics at hand. The role of the teacher is not to dispense knowledge, but to guide, facilitate andmodel the use of these tools so that students can acquire knowledge and create meaning forthemselves. The first principle of the philosopher’s pedagogy is, in fact, the “examined life of theteacher.” Only through his or her own awareness of and authentic connection to the process can theteacher be that guide for students.
These ideas resonated closely with my own philosophy of teaching and learning, based on conclusions
and principles I’ve come to in my own years of teaching and learning among different groups and indiverse settings. Like many new teachers, I’d been frustrated by my inability to translate the teachingthat was in my head into the reality of my classroom. Even more frustrating was the lack of support
from the larger community for ideas like these – because they often conflict with the direction of school
policy and the movement towards standardization, or they just make people a little uncomfortable. It
does require a shift in thinking about the role of teachers and their relationship to students. It has beendifficult to find colleagues that are willing to simply have conversations about these things, never mind
work on developing the curriculum and pedagogy that supports them. To be fair, teachers are being
squeezed from many directions and have to respond to many directives, and there is often little energy
left over for philosophical ideas that don’t seem to fit with the prevailing paradigm and standards theyare being held to.
The irony is that pedagogy like p4cHI can help teachers meet the demands that are being placed onthem AND create classroom environments in which they and their students can engage, think, wonder,and thrive. It is within the process of philosophical inquiry (no matter the subject) that students acquire
the tools of good thinking and also confront themselves. Beyond mere memorization of facts anddiscrete bits of knowledge, teachers and students alike learn to question deeply and explore the ideas
and meaning embedded within their content to more fully understand themselves and their world.
When I was in Hawaii, I was able to participate in several p4cHI inquiries, in classrooms ranging fromelementary through senior high school. One inquiry began with a student-generated question about thenecessity of assemblies to address the issue of bullying at school. Through the course of the structured,
student-led discussion, we explored topics of power, right and wrong, the concept of self, honesty, andthe development of identity. In a fourth grade classroom, the question of whether or not money is theroot of all evil led us to question, among other things, the nature of money and value, the concept ofevil, responsibilities of individuals and communities, human needs, and greed.
I was reminded of the ideas of Parker Palmer: that good teaching is neither teacher-centered nor
student-centered, but subject centered, and comes from the authentic exploration of the “great things”
of each discipline around which we gather. It is this exploration that puts value in education. It is not
simply about learning content, but about what that content means and can ultimately teach us about
ourselves. P4cHI is not THE way to do this, but a way. It is a way that is inherently respectful ofcommunity, and full of potential to empower students with the thinking skills, knowledge andawareness that our world so needs. This was worth 14 hours on a plane…to begin to work with apedagogy in my own classroom that does not simply prepare students to live in the world as it is, butperhaps enables them to create the world as we hope it can be.
Kerrie Lirosi
Halifax, Massachusetts
April 2015