Pondering the tough questions

CSUB in the Community: Philosophy for Children

By California State University, Bakersfield

July 12^th, 2022

This story is part of an ongoing series titled CSUB in the Community, which highlights various programs and organizations on campus that serve the community through their programming.

What does it mean to be brave? What makes a true friend? Is it always wrong to lie?

These are just some of the questions posed to children as part of California State University, Bakersfield’s Philosophy for Children program, held twice a month each school year at the southwest branch of the Kern County Library.

As part of the free program, groups of children ages 7-12 participate in philosophical discussions led by CSUB faculty and students. The goal of the program — which includes book readings and other activities — is to develop childrens’ critical thinking and collaborative learning skills.

"I think our community needs these kinds of outreach programs,” said Dr. Senem Saner, assistant professor of psychology and director of the program. “A lot of programs that are offered to children are about them doing something by themselves or with their parents, or they are just passive recipients. This program gets children to interact with each other and exercise their reasoning skills.”

The way Philosophy for Children works is that Dr. Saner or one of her student volunteers will read a book to the children and ask them questions relating to the themes of the book to get a group conversation started.

“Philosophy is not this abstract discipline. It arises from everyday concerns, and those concerns are ones that children oftentimes ask about,” she said. “Children are curious, and they don’t have a lot of opportunities where they are allowed to talk about big questions and be listened to. They’re not getting that in school.”

Rafael Moreno, supervisor of the southwest branch of the Kern County Library, said CSUB has been a great partner and that the Philosophy for Children program is a great opportunity for children to share their own perspectives.

“As adults, we spend more time reading and giving children our interpretation on literature and rarely ask for their thoughts. Adults will be amazed at the responses the participating children share during this amazing program,” he said. “The southwest branch is very thankful for the partnership with Dr. Saner and the Philosophy Department.”

One of those adults is Saypaw Poonyo, whose 11-year-old daughter Starlet has been participating in the program since she was 7 years old.

“She loves hearing the stories and having to brainstorm and share her ideas,” she said. “This program is excellent. It allows children to express their feelings freely. There are no right or wrong answers.”

Poonyo said she has seen her daughter grow significantly during the time she has been participating in the program.

“She is more confident, and her social skills have improved too,” she said. “I think this program will help her with group projects in school. She needs to have good communication and social skills.”

Dr. Saner hopes all children who participate in the program feel that it is a safe space where they can share their thoughts with others.

“We want them to know that their ideas matter and that they are valuable,” she said. “I really like that here we can talk about big issues, issues that matter to us, and do it civilly, so they understand that disagreement is OK and it doesn’t have to be the end of the conversation.”

The Philosophy for Children program will return to the library in September.

An 'eye-opening' experience

Philosophy for Children is not only a community program but is also the basis of two courses offered to CSUB students. One is a lower-division course that introduces students to Philosophy for Children and the other is a higher-division course that fulfills an experiential learning requirement for a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.

Students spend a large part of this course visiting elementary schools to facilitate discussions with fifth and sixth-grade children.

“I give my students full control over the curriculum. They choose the books they want to use and the activities they want to do,” Dr. Saner said. “If you’re a good facilitator, the aim is to speak as little as possible. You guide and ask questions so the conversation occurs among the children.”

Before students can lead the discussions, they need to develop lesson plans, come up with creative activities, participate in mock sessions and more to practice and develop their skills.

“They learn methods of posing questions in a child-friendly way and also develop them in a way that allows children to become better thinkers,” Dr. Saner said. “This program really teaches good listening and analytical skills. They learn how to identify trends in the childrens’ answers, identify where there are good follow-ups and prompt them to dig deeper.”

One student who participated in the course this spring is Madison Gray, a junior who is pursuing her bachelor’s in philosophy and wants to become a teacher.

“It’s been really cool being able to apply my major and everything I’ve already learned to this class,” she said. “It’s been amazing to have these philosophical conversations with children and see how developed their minds really are.”

Gray said she was a bit nervous when she first began participating in these discussions, as she was concerned about her ability to facilitate good conversations with the children. Part of that was because she had to do the discussions over Zoom due to COVID-19.

It was difficult at first to get students to engage in discussions over Zoom, Gray said. After doing it a few times, however, the children started to open up and she began to feel more confident in her abilities.

“It’s definitely something I’ve overcome. I’ve been able to have great conversations with students as I have grown more comfortable,” she said. “It’s been very eye-opening to see these kids open up about what’s going on in their lives and the things they’ve gone through that have made them who they are.”

Gray originally thought about a career teaching kindergarten and first-grade students. However, after taking the Philosophy for Children course and working with an older group of elementary school children, she is thinking about changing her plans.

“This program has reignited my passion for education and has allowed me to see what kind of grade I want to teach after I graduate,” she said. “It’s amazing that we get the opportunity to go out into the community and get this experience. It’s really shown me that I’m capable of working with students and engaging with them.”

This fall, Dr. Saner will be teaching the lower-division Philosophy for Children course, CAFS/PHIL 2620. The higher division course, CAFS/PHIL 3620, is taught in the spring. For information about registration, visit csub.edu/registrar/registration.