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University of Washington Philosophers in the Schools Program
The “Philosophers in the Schools” program at University of Washington, begun in 1999, educates graduate and undergraduate students about ways to introduce philosophy to pre-college students, and then sends these UW students into public schools around Seattle to conduct philosophy sessions with K-12 students.
The program includes three Philosophy for Children seminars, one each quarter. The fall and spring “Inner Pipeline” seminars are taught as a team by Center Director Jana Mohr Lone, Education Director David Shapiro and Program Director Sara Goering as part of the Center’s partnership with the UW’s Pipeline Project. Our more in-depth winter class is taught each year by Education Director David Shapiro. All of our Philosophy for Children classes introduce UW students to methods of doing philosophy with young people (as contrasted with teaching philosophy to young people) by stressing the development of a philosophical community of inquiry, in which students are encouraged to ask their own relevant questions, develop views and articulate reasons for them, and to listen and learn from one another. The emphasis is on learning by doing, and we spend time discussing the students’ experiences in K-12 classrooms and helping the students to conduct philosophy sessions with pre-college students.