"I remember this," a veteran teacher once whispered to me as we sat through a rather tedious presentation of the latest and greatest best educational practice.  "We did this 30 years ago."

If you study the history of education in the United States, you'll notice a series of pendulum swings.  Educational policy and practices seemingly go too far in one direction and then society reacts and the pendulum wildly swings too far in the other direction.  We are, it oftentimes seems, a society that is drawn to the extreme poles of action/reaction and either/or.

Welcome to this video in our series!  In this video post we begin a six week series that goes through, step by step, the basic p4cHI "Plain Vanilla" method.  Our group will show you how we use reading books as a stimulus for inquiry.

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.

In this story Dr. J reflects on what makes a p4cHI inquiry special.  A p4cHI inquiry is special, he concludes, because it arises out of the interests of the children and because no one, including the teacher, knows where the inquiry will lead.    

I am, I have to admit, a little bit different.  (But, then again, aren't we all?)  I don't think I'm different in a bad way.  But I tend to see things a little bit differently.  Perhaps, in large part, this is because I like to make ideas my own.  Ideas don't really makes sense to me until I think through them and fit them in with my experiences.

This video post is about cultivating intellectual safety. You'll learn about what steps you might take in order to create an environment where people listen, support, respect, and care about each another.

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.

In this week's story Dr. J shares a story from an inquiry in Japan. Why, one child asked, won't some of our teachers tell us their age? This seemingly simple question started the community -- both children and adults -- on an extraordinarily deep and moving inquiry.

Philosophy for Children (P4C), it is important to understand, is practiced all over the world. The mainland United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, Mexico, Kenya, China, Austria, Korea, England....those are just a few of the countries where P4C is practiced which jump into my mind. But there are dozens more.

p4cHI is, without a doubt, a proud child of Matthew Lipman's nearly 5 decades old P4C. But, like a child who has moved far away and made her own life, p4cHI looks and acts a little bit different from P4C.

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.

In this story Dr. J tells us about the time that he explored a deep and complex topic -- What's real? -- with a Kindergarten class. He was delighted and amazed as the inquiry wound down an unexpected path.

In this video you will see the students make a community ball. This is a common way for a p4cHI group to start the year. It is a way both to build community and to create an important tool for the governance of the group.

Oftentimes, like estranged siblings, theory and practice don't travel together.  Sometimes, like when we're in a rush to apply some great new "best practice," theory gets left behind.  (Why, we ask, are we doing this?)  At other times, perhaps when we're listening to some scholar, Practice never even gets into the van.  (How, we wonder, is this relevant?)