Jana Mohr Lone

Philosophical Resources for Educators from LEARN NC & UNC

|

Philosophy resources for educators LEARN NC and UNC’s Department of Philosophy’s Philosophy Outreach Program have developed this collection of philosophical resources for educators, which includes tools and lessons to help teachers incorporate philosophical resources into classroom instruction. Resources includes a “Philosophy 101” guide for educators, links to exceptional web resources and lesson plans online, and a collection of … Philosophical Resources for Educators from LEARN NC & UNC

Everyone Sees Things So Differently

|

“It doesn’t frustrate me that we don’t have the answers to these questions. I like hearing what other people think about them, because there are so many different ways people think about things. That’s what’s great about philosophy, you realize that everyone sees things so differently.“Fourth grade student at Whittier Elementary School, Seattle When I … Everyone Sees Things So Differently

PLATO High School Essay Contest

|

Announcement: We have our winners! Winners, 2014 PLATO Essay Contest: First place:  Jared Corbett – Oak Park River Forest High School, Oak Park IL “Probabilistic Chains” Second place:  Sydney To – Valley Christian High School, San Jose, CA “Freedom in Degrees” Third place:  James Drueckhammer – The Stony Brook School, Stony Brook NY “Free Will” … PLATO High School Essay Contest

Two New PLATO Initiatives!

|

I’ve written before about PLATO (Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization), a national organization that advocates and supports introducing philosophy to K-12 students. Two exciting new projects: a high school essay contest – see here – and annual awards for elementary, middle and high school teachers – see here. Lots of progress in the movement to … Two New PLATO Initiatives!

Just Pretend

|

Benny and Penny in Just Pretend, by Geoffrey Hayes, is an early-reader graphic novel about two siblings and the efforts of the younger child, Penny, to join her brother in “playing pretend.” Constructing pretend worlds is part of many children’s childhoods – I remember when my children wouldn’t answer me unless I addressed them as … Just Pretend

PLATO Awards for Teachers

|

PLATO (Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization) Announces it 2014-15 K-12 Philosophy Teaching Awards   Nominations for the 2014-15 PLATO K-12 Philosophy Teaching Awards are now open. Summary: PLATO has established three awards to be given annually to K-12 classroom teachers in the U.S. for excellence in teaching philosophy in elementary, middle or high school: (1)  … PLATO Awards for Teachers

Frog in Love

|

Frog in Love by Max Velthuijs is the story of Frog, who has felt strange all week, and is trying to figure out what is wrong. He feels like crying and laughing at the same time, and that “there’s something going thump-thump” inside him. When he tells Hare about how he is feeling, Hare tells … Frog in Love

“Shivers”

|

Arnold Lobel is probably my favorite children’s book author, and a master at generating philosophically suggestive narratives. The Frog and Toad books, in particular, are full of stories that raise many puzzles about life and experience. One of my favorites is the story “Shivers,” in Days With Frog and Toad. Frog tells Toad a ghost … “Shivers”

A Pair of Red Clogs

|

A Pair of Red Clogs is Masako Matsuno’s first book for children, written in 1960. A grandmother, looking for a box to send a new pair of clogs to her granddaughter, finds an old pair of cracked red wooden clogs in her storeroom. The grandmother remembers how excited she was when, as a child the … A Pair of Red Clogs

Asking Questions

|

I have written in many places about the centrality of questions to the work we do, and the importance generally of children learning to ask good questions and trusting that their questions are valuable. Almost all very young children are alive with questions; they seem to naturally apprehend that this is the way to investigate … Asking Questions