Last week, our students were joined by a small, but special, audience of parents and carers to discuss P4C and to showcase students’ artistic talent from across the school.
Part of the event gave the children an opportunity to share what they have been practising in their P4C lessons in class, and the parents had the chance to engage in philosophical debate alongside our enthusiastic children. The school’s art council carefully selected pieces to curate an exhibition presented in the hall that inspired our conversations, and, after a playful ponder, we discussed meaningful questions such as Does Art Have to be Beautiful? and Is it okay if art makes you sad?
As the title P4C has been broadened to Philosophy for Children, Colleges and Communities, workshops such as this help us recognise the fact that philosophical enquiry strengthens whole-school culture and community relationships beyond just primary school. Organisations such as SAPERE, who accredited us with our Gold award, take the practice into museums, workplaces and other public spaces too, so we will likely hold these workshops more often next year so that our school’s families can join in with us.
With the adults and students all busy sharing their thoughts, the focus remained on helping each other think critically, creatively, collaboratively and with care through structured dialogue and building a community of enquiry.
Final thoughts from the parents, carers and children:
