Philosophy of Childhood Archives - PLATO Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization Tue, 18 Feb 2025 22:10:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://plato-philosophy.org/wp-content/uploads/cropped-plato-new-logo-sq-32x32.png Philosophy of Childhood Archives - PLATO 32 32 Wild https://plato-philosophy.org/questionslibrary/wild/ Wed, 31 Aug 2022 22:26:36 +0000 https://www.plato-philosophy.org/?post_type=questionslibrary&p=17715 What feelings/thoughts do you have about this story? Why do we think the girl is “wild”? What makes her “wild”? Have you ever had a time you felt like the Wild Girl? Can you describe it? What was that experience like? What does it mean to behave “wrongly”? What does your “wild girl wild space” ... Wild

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  • What feelings/thoughts do you have about this story?
  • Why do we think the girl is “wild”? What makes her “wild”?
  • Have you ever had a time you felt like the Wild Girl? Can you describe it? What was that experience like?
  • What does it mean to behave “wrongly”?
  • What does your “wild girl wild space” look like?
  • How do you facilitate or create places and spaces so that no one feels like the wild girl does in the house, and more like she does in her wild space?
  • What does it mean to have a community that accepts you (like the girl feels in the wild with her animal friends/teachers)?
  • Do you think the girl could ever fit in and feel comfortable in the house? How could the people have changed their behaviors to make her feel more comfortable?

    • For this lesson plan, you can use the book or watch this video read aloud.

    If teaching high school students, this children’s book might be accompanied with a reading and discussion of the poem “The Summer Day,” by Mary Oliver.

    This lesson was submitted by Christine Salma, Katherine Caldwell, and Melissa Jacquart.

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    ]]>         I Am the Dog https://plato-philosophy.org/questionslibrary/i-am-the-dog/ Thu, 10 Feb 2022 19:22:03 +0000 https://development.plato-philosophy.org/?post_type=questionslibrary&p=14877 What are the benefits and downsides to being a human? What are the benefits and downsides to being a dog? Max and Jacob decide that being a dog is better than being a human. Does that seem right to you? Are all dogs’ lives the same? Are all humans’ lives the same? If you could ... I Am the Dog

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  • What are the benefits and downsides to being a human?
  • What are the benefits and downsides to being a dog?
  • Max and Jacob decide that being a dog is better than being a human. Does that seem right to you?
  • Are all dogs’ lives the same? Are all humans’ lives the same?
  • If you could live someone else’s life for a day, whose would you pick? Why?

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    ]]>         Pout-Pout Fish https://plato-philosophy.org/questionslibrary/pout-pout-fish/ Wed, 26 Oct 2016 18:17:07 +0000 http://depts.washington.edu/nwcenter/?post_type=questionslibrary&p=2467 How is one destined to be glum or happy? Is there destiny? Why do people feel so uncomfortable around an unhappy person? Is it wrong to be gloomy? Does one have the right to be unhappy? How does the kiss help Pout-Pout Fish to become cheerful? Is it okay to kiss someone you don’t know? ... Pout-Pout Fish

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  • How is one destined to be glum or happy? Is there destiny?
  • Why do people feel so uncomfortable around an unhappy person?
  • Is it wrong to be gloomy? Does one have the right to be unhappy?
  • How does the kiss help Pout-Pout Fish to become cheerful?
  • Is it okay to kiss someone you don’t know?

    • Contributed by Lan Nguyen

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    ]]>         Albert’s Impossible Toothache https://plato-philosophy.org/questionslibrary/alberts-impossible-toothache/ Fri, 23 Sep 2016 01:17:14 +0000 http://depts.washington.edu/nwcenter/wordpress/?post_type=questionslibrary&p=1714 Turtles don’t have teeth, but Albert says he has a toothache. Is Albert just imagining that he has a toothache? Is it possible for imaginary aches to hurt as much as real ones? Is it possible that Albert is pointing at a real ache, but not a toothache? Can we point to things and talk ... Albert’s Impossible Toothache

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  • Turtles don’t have teeth, but Albert says he has a toothache. Is Albert just imagining that he has a toothache? Is it possible for imaginary aches to hurt as much as real ones?
  • Is it possible that Albert is pointing at a real ache, but not a toothache?
  • Can we point to things and talk about them, even if we don’t know what to call them?
  • How do we know we are talking about the same thing?
  • How do we know we understand each other?
  • Do we mean the same things when we say the following words:
    • Happiness.
    • Dog.
    • Friend.
    • Tree.
    • Lake.
    • Green.
    • Sweet.
    • Scary.
    • Beautiful.
    • Book.
    • Baby.
    • Earth.
    • Toy.
    • Love.

    • The relationship between possibility and reality:

    • If something has never happened before, does that mean it’s impossible that it will ever happen? How do you know that something has never happened before?
    • Can you imagine something that is “impossible?” What? How do you know it’s impossible?

    Truth and lying

    • What is the difference between telling the truth and lying?
    • Was Albert telling the truth?
    • Could Albert have forgotten that he was a turtle?
    • Could Albert have forgotten that he didn’t have teeth?
    • Could you forget who you are?
    • Why do we believe someone is telling the truth or not?
    • Can you be saying something that is not true and not be lying?
    • Do you have to know something is not true for it to be a lie? Can you tell a lie if you don’t know it’s a lie?
    • Would it be true if I said the following things?
      • That I believed I was a cat, if I did believe it?
      • That I was a cat, if I believed it?
      • That it was raining out, if it was?
      • That it was raining out, if I thought it was but it wasn’t?
      • That it would be sunny tomorrow?
      • That I was a daddy?
      • That my hair was purple?
      • That I was angry?
    • Can you think of something you’ve said that wasn’t true but wasn’t a lie either?
    • Why do we tell the truth?
      • To make friends?
      • To be fair to others?
      • To have fun?
      • To stay out of trouble?
      • To make adults happy?
      • Because we don’t like lies?
      • To be happy with ourselves?

    The nature of childhood

    • Why didn’t Albert’s family believe him? Would the story have been the same if Albert’s mother had been the one complaining of a toothache instead of Albert?
    • Do people believe adults more easily than children?
    • Are adults more trustworthy than children?
    • Are children “adults in the making” or is there more to childhood than that?

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