46

Educational Perspectives ❖ Volume 44 ❖ Numbers 1 and 2

Philosophy for Children Kenyan Style
By Rebecca Odierna“For apart from inquiry, apart from the praxis, individuals cannot be truly human. Knowledge emerges
only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry
human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other” (Paulo Freire, 2000, p. 72).

It was the last day of Philosophy 492, my college
course dedicated to teaching the principles and strategiesof p4c Hawai‘i. I stood up in front of the class andpresented part one of my final project—a philosophy forchildren travel kit. The green, suitcase-looking container
was packed tight with yarn, popsicle sticks, paper, glue,
fabric tubes, Good Thinkers’ Tool Kit, and other pertinent
p4c materials. At the time of my presentation, I had no
idea what lay ahead in my future, nor was I even remotely
aware of the great significance my final project would
have in the course of the next three months of my life.
What I did know was that I was heading to Kenya for theentire summer as a volunteer for an organization dedicatedto educational projects throughout the rural areas of thecountry, and I was nothing but giddy at the prospect of
introducing philosophy for children to impoverished
African children.
Months before I joined the Philosophy 492 class,
I was asked to join Emerging Humanity—a non-profit
organization based in Honolulu, Hawai‘i—as a volunteer
in a project that focused on enhancing the classroom
environments at the organization’s partner schools
throughout the Nyanza Province of Kenya. My role during
my Kenyan adventure would be to work with teachers andstudents to strive to improve the quality of learning andthe internal relations within the classroom. Combining theknowledge I learned from scholarly texts and from myinitial classroom observations in Kenya, I soon realizedthat the majority of the Kenyan school systems are still
entrenched in the old, British-colonial style of learning:
The teacher stands up in front of the class and dictates thecontent that is presented. The desks are lined up in perfectrows facing the front of the classroom. Students are notencouraged to interact, participate in activities, or ask
questions. Their duty is to sit politely, listen, and strive
to keep up with the teacher while also attempting to takequality notes. Discussions are rare, and the learning styleis based on nothing even remotely resembling dialogical,
hands-on and/or experiential learning. The whole systempromotes rote memorization.

p4c Travels to Kenya
Upon learning about the Kenyan approach toeducation, it came as no surprise to me that there were
non-profit organizations dedicated to improving thequality of education for these Kenyan children. It was also
not shocking to hear that many of Kenya’s rural students
are failing school. To offer some insight into the problem,the class’s grade average when I arrived at the girls’ highschool that I spent most of my time at was 37 percent. I
was astonished. However, my initial dismay soon turned
to motivation. I was determined to help improve the testscores of the students and to make learning more fun andmeaningful for these children, who, as a result of theireducation experience, were bored and stressed in equalmeasure. Luckily for me, I had spent the entire springsemester before my trip learning a different approach that,
I felt, offered an antidote to the students boredom andstress: p4c Hawai‘i. Words cannot give full justice to theimpact that my p4c experience had on my life and on myeducational outlook. As an aspiring teacher I was intriguedby the educational philosophy of p4c that focused on
student dialogue in communities of inquiry. Throughout
the semester, I participated in p4c communities in college
level classes and joined in p4c discussions at a local highschool. The experience provided clear evidence to me that
this kind of instruction worked in practice.
As a result, I saw no better way to approach mysummer project in Kenya than to bring what I had learned
from my college philosophy class and apply it to myefforts with Kenyan students. After all, it seemed clear
to me that the problems disrupting their education could

Philosophy for Children

be overcome, as they were problems that arose fromthe reliance on outdated educational methodologies thatstressed memorization and the authority of the teacher. p4c
Hawai‘i, on the other hand, regards teachers and students
as co-investigators in inquiry. It promotes the idea that theyshould be mutually responsible for mindful exploration andindividual and collective growth. In this sense, education
can and should connect the kind of student-teacher
opposition that existed in the Kenyan schools.
An education that promotes memorization above all
else fails to challenge students to practice such worthy
activities as critical thinking and problem solving.
According to the ideals and aims of p4c, students shouldn’t
be docile listeners; they should be investigators who
consider and reconsider, question and re-question, assess
and reassess. Dialogue and inquiry are the means toachieving these goals. Paulo Freire has written that, “thefundamental goal of dialogical teaching is to create aprocess of learning and knowing that invariably involves
theorizing about the experiences shared in the dialogue
process” (2000, p. 17). This concept of dialogical learningis embedded in p4c. Another approach of p4c is thatreality isn’t a finished story with only one version—it
is open-ended and makes allowance for many avenuesof interpretation. In this sense, teachers shouldn’t be theknow-it-all, end-all authority figure. They shouldn’t be
imposing their opinions on students. Instead, they should
encourage the students to think through and discover theirown view based on all the information available.
Confident and determined to inspire change, I grabbed
my philosophy for children travel kit and began making
the rounds at Emerging Humanity’s partner schools—thevery schools where I had done my first observations. My
initial endeavors were exhausting, and I found myself
losing hope in my goals. I went from school to school andsat down with every principle, trying to convince him or
her of the promise in adopting the learning methodologies
that are embedded in p4c. I explained the concepts until I
was blue in the face, but no one was biting my bait. “Sit ina circle?!?” one headmaster gasped. “Have every student
participate?” another principal stuttered, with a shocked
look. “Encourage the teacher to consider herself anotherstudent?” a second principal said in disgust.
I begged them to give it a try, to let me facilitate
some classes, to invite the teachers to sit down with me to47

discuss alternative ways of educating their students. Mostof my clients gave me a flat out “no”: others’ expressed
skepticism. No matter what their immediate responses
were, I heard over and over again that “that type” ofeducation wasn’t possible: “that’s not the Kenyan way.”
I pleaded for them at least to try it out first, and if theteachers and students didn’t like it, then they could forget
about it, and I’d move along. Nothing I said convinced
them it was even worth considering. I soon realized that“the Kenyan way,” which seemed more to resemble theentrenched colonial-British way, was neither flexible nor
open to new ideas.
Two weeks passed, and I had accomplished nothing.
In spite of their students’ failing grades and their students’apparent indifference to their own education, I had yet tofind one school that was willing to try anything beyond
the prescribed traditional methods, far less than show
any openness to my “outsider,” p4c ideas. Frustrated andsad, I was on the brink of giving up. The following day,
I was asked to accompany some of my fellow volunteers
to one of Emerging Humanity’s two private schools,
which was located in the heart of the rural district ofUgenya. Emerging Humanity had established Lifunga
Girls’ Secondary School (LGSS) as a unique learning
institution for underprivileged girls. As a result of LGSS
being completely run by Emerge, the projects and ideas ofour volunteers were more likely to be welcomed and moreeasily implemented.
Upon my arrival, I was disappointed (but not surprised)to see that none of the girls spoke a word or cracked a smilein their classes. The energy in the classrooms was intense
and rigid—and for the most part deeply uncomfortable. I
found it extremely hard to stay engaged. I also failed tokeep up with what the teachers were regurgitating, andunlike the girls, I was not required to write down every
other word the teacher said and to compose legible study
notes. If I had tried to take notes, I know I would havefailed miserably. As I sat and listened, I was convincedthat LGSS needed to experience something different, even
if it refused to embrace p4c. Whatever the change wouldbe, it was clear to me that it was necessary for the sakeof the girls and the education provided to them. It was atthat point that I decided to do whatever I could to makethat happen—to promote change by introducing new andalternative methods of teaching and learning.

48

Educational Perspectives ❖ Volume 44 ❖ Numbers 1 and 2

Embracing p4c
The reason that I had attended LGSS on that first day
was to interview candidates for a new health and language
teacher position. After three disappointing prospects hadcome and gone, I felt a sense of nervous excitement whena woman named Gillian Wafula spoke in her interview.
She was a young, progressive teacher who talked of theneed to break the British education mold that was so widely
embraced by Kenyans, and to reach out to the students in
new ways. Her assured demeanor was uplifting and I began
to form the opinion that Gillian could very possibly be myproject gateway. It was clear from her responses to the interview questions that Gillian would bring a new and fresh
perspective, and positive energy to LGSS. We hired her on
the spot. Gillian, I hoped, would be a way to bring p4c to
Kenya. So, instead of resuming my old routine of trying topersuade an unyielding principal to allow me to talk to theteachers, I went directly to Gillian. I pulled up a chair at
her lunch table and made my pitch. “I have some ideas….
I think they could help the girls perform better, and theywould certainly make for a more enjoyable classroom experience. What do you say? Want to have some fun?” Gillian
looked at me with serious eyes for a short moment before alarge grin covered her face. Highly enthusiastic, she blurted
out, “Yes, I’m in! What do you have in mind?” It was atthat moment that “p4c Kenyan Style” truly began.
For several weeks, Gillian and I worked together toput our plan into effect. It took barely a month, and soon
I was proud to see that her language and health courses
had become fully functioning p4c communities. The
transformation was not easy. The students had never before
been encouraged to empower themselves and become active agents in their learning. Getting them to participate ininquiry-based discussions was like pulling teeth. Initially,
the girls were confused and timid; they slumped down intheir chairs and hid their faces, apparently too embarrassed
or bashful to talk or even write in their new journals. But
with time, things began to change and our community
began to form.
We started off with easy and comfortable discussions,like, “What did you do this weekend?” and “What’s yourfavorite hobby?” or, more searchingly, “As a girl in apatriarchal community, how does it feel to have been given
the rare opportunity to attend secondary school?” Slowly
each girl began to open up and contribute to the inquiries,

and within a month Gillian and I were able to steer theinquiries towards subjects that specifically related to theclass and its required course content. The intellectual depthof discussion that we were able to reach was inspiring. By
the end of my time in Kenya, the girls had explored topics
such as teen pregnancy, female empowerment, literature,colonization, and poverty. They talked about the benefitsof waiting until you are financially stable to have kids,
the correlation between poverty and teenage mothers withmultiple children, and the effects of European imperialism
and globalization on the survival of indigenous languages
and cultural practices.
By the end of the first month, the students were
smiling and eagerly waving their hands in the air, hoping
for their turn to speak out or give their opinion on amatter under discussion. During this initial phase thegirls were also introduced to the concepts of intellectual
safety, collaboration, inquiry, community, and respect. It
took hard work, but they soon gained the wisdom to beengaged listeners and respectful but assertive contributors.
Their daily evaluations and journal entries conveyed their
sentiments of excitement and privilege in acquiring a newsense of agency and responsibility in their learning. One
girl reflected, “It feels good to feel like I matter in theclassroom. I’ve never felt this way before, and it actually
makes me excited to learn.”
The change in the classroom dynamic and the shift in
the girls’ attitudes during my stay was enough to satisfy me
and leave me with the feeling that my time and efforts in
Kenya were all worthwhile. When I learned of the incredible improvement of the girls’ grades in Gillian’s classes,
I was overwhelmed with pride. Not only had I introduced
p4c to Kenya, but it was also proving to work—and work
very well—as an alternative educational method andphilosophy. By the time I left Kenya in the middle ofAugust, the girls had increased their scores by an averageof 10 percent in the courses in which p4c was implemented.
I later learned that after continual application of p4c inthree-quarters of the LGSS classrooms, the class’ average
grade went from a 37 percent in May to a 56 percent in lateNovember.

p4c Kenyan Style
I am sure my educational endeavors in Kenya would
not have been successful without Gillian. It was her open

Philosophy for Children

mind and desire to create positive change that enabled
p4c to function and grow, first at LGSS and later at otherschools. It was Gillian who called her teacher friends andconvinced them to invite me to their schools and share p4c
with their coworkers and students. Once Gillian embraced
the basic philosophies of p4c, she went above and beyond
her teaching responsibilities to encourage other schools
and teachers to do try p4c. As a result, during the month ofJuly, I successfully introduced p4c to eight classes in six
different schools, four of which were elementary schools
and two of which were high schools. Whether or not theseclasses are still operating as p4c communities to this day is
unknown, but I am confident in the fact that the mere actof introducing and practicing p4c changed the way several
teachers and schools think about education.
My p4c experience in Kenya was first and foremost alearning process. I quickly came to realize that p4c works
in different contexts, and that the same approaches I had
used in the U.S. were not always viable in Kenya. This is
why the term “p4c Kenyan Style” has so much meaning
to me. p4c literally had to be molded and adapted to workin the Kenyan context. The fact that p4c was able to adapt
to its unique setting conveys the beauty in its remarkableflexibility. It underscores the fact that there is no rightor best way to do p4c—its functions and approaches are
relevant to the particular community.
For example, in the area of Kenya that I was working,it is not always culturally acceptable to share your feelingsin open spaces. As a result, self-reflections and daily
evaluations were designated to journals; they were rarely
communicated within the group. The one reflection that
did stay in the interactive realm of the community was
the thumbs-up/thumbs-down evaluation at the end of each
discussion. Also, classroom activities such as Plain Vanilla
were executed differently. I found in Kenya that students
are not as willing to share their questions on the board, andmany have no desire to identify themselves with their ideas
for that day’s inquiry. To adapt to this value, Plain Vanilla
became an anonymous game. Questions and thoughts were
written on small pieces of paper, folded up, and put in abucket to keep the author’s identity confidential.
Other cultural issues such as the language barrier
forced me to think about and facilitate discussions in new
ways. While Kenyan teachers teach their classes in English,
English is, for many of the students, the second and weaker49

language. Thus, finding the right words to explain concepts
like intellectual safety and the Good Thinker’s Tool Kit
proved especially challenging. As a result, I was forced
to get creative and use pictures, models, and sometimes
songs to generate clarity and understanding. I found thebest way to provide an explanation, however, was to show
the students through praxis. Rather than try to define
intellectual safety, I pointed out the moments in which I
thought it was achieved or being implemented at various
points in our community development and discussions.
Overall, what I came to realize as an important truth about
p4c is that it has a different face in every classroom. But,
while the approaches and methods may be slightly different
in each setting, the fundamental principles and philosophies
are still the same.
Due to the incredible social and cultural experienceof my summer in Kenya, as well as the success of myeducational endeavors, I accepted an offer to return in2011 for an entire year. I had few expectations for myreturn, but I certainly hoped that I would be able to see p4c
communities in schools in the province where I worked.
My goal remained the same for 2011: I was going to
strive to increase the quality of education that is offered tounderprivileged children in rural villages, and I intended
to do so through the implementation of p4c philosophies
and ideologies. Upon my return to work in Kenya, I was
thrilled to see p4c was still active in several of the schools
I had introduced it to the summer before. Moreover,the students and teachers in these communities seemedgenuinely happy; not only in their classroom interactions,but also with their overall educational path, and the ways
in which that form of education was positively generatingknowledge, increasing productivity, and enhancing
community relations.
With the collaboration of my Emerging Humanity
co-workers, p4c program evaluations were conductedwithin my first few months back. These evaluations
were based on interviews with teachers, students, and thestudents’ families, as well as on student productivity andtest scores. As expected, the results of these evaluations
overwhelmingly showed a positive correlation between
p4c and educational outcomes. The program had shown aboost in attitude, enthusiasm, and overall morale among
both students and teachers. Students who participatedin p4c communities had improved their test scores and50

Educational Perspectives ❖ Volume 44 ❖ Numbers 1 and 2class attendance over the five months in which p4c wasbeing implemented in their classrooms. As a result of
these findings, I used these evaluations to make a casefor p4c in schools that had not already adopted or tried
the program. Again, my efforts were not always fruitful,
but by the time I left Kenya in November of 2011, p4c
was being employed in fourteen different schools in the
Nyanza province. I can only hope that p4c will continue
to have a positive impact on education and will gain
further momentum in Kenya. I have faith in p4c’s ability
to enhance education, and I am confident that the peopleof Kenya will highly benefit from its use, just as any
classroom in any part of the world surely would.

REFERENCE
Freire, P. (2000) Pedagogy of the oppressed (Continuum
International Publishing Group, 2000.