The warm and welcoming first session that we had today led me to revisit the emotions of excitement that I felt when I first encountered P4C and at the moments I met new friends in the P4C community along the way since. And when Takayuki mentioned that he questions who he is for his students, I started to wonder who I am inviting my undergraduate students so eagerly to the community of inquiry and why I am here doing such work. As I mentioned, I am conflicted between my belief that P4C and community of inquiry will benefit my students as individuals and as future teachers (and thus benefit their future students) and the fact that this may have caused extra struggles for my students after they graduate.

However, when I read Toby's article after the session and reached p.55, I had to pause. It was because the episode reminded me of one of my brightest former students, who is now struggling yet working hard and strong as a novice teacher. She once mentioned in our circle that, as a child, she used to read the textbook for "Morality" class (we have that as a mandatory class for 1-9 graders here in Japan) like it was the Bible, because she couldn't understand how a good person should act; she was bullied at school and by her family members growing up, and she thought that by acting exactly how it is suggested in the textbook, she would be accepted and loved by others. But sadly, she never was saved by the textbook. Although we did experience a few conflicts among the students in the circle after she joined my seminar due to some comments that she made that didn't show care for others, by the time she shared this story (maybe an year later), she was both a loved and loving member of our community.

And remembering how the seminar became a community that she belongs in, I am now leaning towards thinking that what I am doing for them is for more good than harm. (Eriko)

To complete your member signup, please fill out the information below.

Membership is a way that p4c Hawaiʻi can grow its extended virtual community of inquiry.  It helps us: 

• Identify people who are interested in learning more about p4c Hawaiʻi and connect them with each other and the UH Uehiro Academy. 
• Develop and pilot resources for educators and researchers who are not able to visit Hawaiʻi
• Create an intellectually safe asynchronous community of inquiry so that members can discuss relevant issues and share ideas.

Current benefits of membership:

• Access to members only website content & events;
• Discounts on paid events through the UH Uehiro Academy;
• Recommend events and help shape future benefits

What membership fees pay for:

• Website & Administrative fees
• Guest speakers

Free events for members:

Zoom Talk Story with p4c Hawaiʻi founder Dr. Thomas Jackson (Dr. J):  Everyone wishes they could spend more time with Dr. J, so he has graciously agreed to host several informal “talk story” sessions over the course of this semester.  There is no agenda; these sessions are an open opportunity for dialogue and learning from Dr. J’s 40-plus years of p4c experience.

We are offering sessions at two different times to better accommodate the global reach of p4c Hawaiʻi. 

• Tuesdays at 11am HST: 9/21, 10/19, 11/16, 12/14
• Thursdays at 3pm HST: 9/23, 10/21, 11/18, 12/16