Drawing from his many years of experience, p4cHI founder Dr. Thomas Jackson (Dr. J) shares some of his most memorable moments and significant realizations.  These stories provide us with a vibrant and oftentimes inspirational perspective on where p4cHI has come from, what it is, and, indeed, on what it could be.

As I read Gandhi's quote (in the image on the right) I, perhaps somewhat oddly, thought of the old phrase "garbage in, garbage out."  Mothers everywhere probably have something like that in mind when they urge their children to avoid junk food.  If you eat unhealthy food, your body won't be healthy.  You, to put it another way, reap what you sow.

With age, they say, comes wisdom.  I don't think this is always true.  Some of my greatest teachers have been children who possess a rare and special wisdom that is way beyond their years.  And, on the other hand, I've met a lot of grown-ups who still, it seems to me, foolishly worry too much about unimportant things.

Week after week we have gone piece by piece through the practice of facilitating p4cHI inquiries.  One week we focused on one particular aspect and the next week another.  Now, in our final video, it is time to put all of the pieces together and see p4cHI as it truly is; a single, flowing whole.

Drawing from his many years of experience, p4cHI founder Dr. Thomas Jackson (Dr. J) shares some of his most memorable moments and significant realizations.  These stories provide us with a vibrant and oftentimes inspirational perspective on where p4cHI has come from, what it is, and, indeed, on what it could be.

One of the college courses that I've taught over the years is Introduction to Philosophy.  And one of the topics that we cover in this class is the Philosophy of Religion.  We consider the question of whether or not God exists, look at different conceptions of God, and think more deeply about the qualities that God might possess.

I was on a committee that was interviewing applicants for a job.  It is very important, the chairperson of our committee explained, for each of us to be objective.

Oftentimes people say that we need to be objective.  But it seems to me that what they really mean is that we have to be fair-minded.  I'm not at all sure that it is even possible for any one of us to truly be objective.  After all, each of us is a subject with our own set of unique experiences, tendencies, and strengths.

But even though objectivity is not a character trait, even though we as individuals may not be able to be objective, I do believe that objectivity is possible.  It is attainable through the deliberations of a community of inquirers.  While no single inquirer is objective, collectively the community of inquirers can be objective because the individuals can check each others' biases and correct each others' errors.  Thinking together, they can transcend the boundaries of subjective perspective.

Drawing from his many years of experience, p4cHI founder Dr. Thomas Jackson (Dr. J) shares some of his most memorable moments and significant realizations.  These stories provide us with a vibrant and oftentimes inspirational perspective on where p4cHI has come from, what it is, and, indeed, on what it could be.

This week Dr. J shares a powerful story about what happened when students in a Fourth Grade class were deliberately excluded from an inquiry.  We learn what it is like to not be heard.

Now we conclude our mini-series on "how to improve listening."  This week we turn to "Reactive Strategies."   Reactive strategies are the things that you can do to correct the situation when a student is not listening to his/her peers.  It's what you do to stop poor listening in its tracks.

Teacher is the boss and teacher knows the answer.  This phrase nicely sums up the traditional view of the teacher.  The teacher is the one who sets the rules, tells the students how to behave, and governs the class.  The teacher is the one in the know who can answer any question.

The p4cHI approach to education aims to turn this traditional view on its head.  Rather than claiming power, the p4cHI facilitator gives away power.  Almost immediately she abdicates her claim to epistemological authority because her knowing all the answers is an impediment to the students' genuine inquiry.  Then she begins the process of passing the authority to manage the classroom over to the students; her goal is for the students to govern themselves.