How Can We Engage & Advocate for Children?

Engage

We adults need to give more credit to children. As a society, we have deemed children incapable of complex thinking because of their young age. However, we, too, were once curious children like those of today. So, in order to understand children’s development, intelligence, and thinking, we must not dismiss their curiosities. Children are “natural philosophers…all they need is a creative environment to be left alone in to discover” (274). We shall cultivate their wonders and allow children to question the world around them.

Developmentally, abstract thought occurs earlier than Piaget originally believed, as noted previously. Before age twelve, children observe and engage in the world around them. So, the idea that children use abstract thought in those experiences is a valid statement. In my time spent studying how children interact with higher level thinking, I can concur children, indeed, understand the deeper meaning. Evidence shows “some children at some times are capable of the same level of philosophical sophistication that adults show at times” (274). Children’s thinking, during development, is not as robust or complex as that of an adult. However, in certain circumstances, children display same refinement. We must use their current knowledge to help advance their development as human beings.

Children use the world around them to develop meaning. For instance, children’s books provide deeply philosophical—and complex— stories, with which children gain intellectual curiosity. In the book Frog and Toad Together, the story grapples with the idea of will power. As I mentioned in my publication, Philosophy and the Young Child, “the notion of the will and the associated notion of willpower are philosophically both vexed and vexing’’ (65). We shall invite ourselves to have a conversation with children when faced with these philosophical perplexities. Using children’s books is both engaging and developmentally appropriate. Using examples that are too advanced will not cultivate children’s intelligence because they may disengage.

As children engage in philosophical thinking, we, too, must engage in the conversation. However, philosophical thinking is not limited to day-to-day conversations, observations, or thoughts—it occurs outside of the classroom. As I wrote in Young Philosophy of the Child, “if children are adept to philosophy, might it suggest that in some educational context, at least, [children’s thinking] might move from the complex to the simple… this seems to be the way children learn outside the boundaries of the classroom” (275). Children learn the what in a traditional classroom, but children discover the why when they use their experiences around them to make connections. To young students, “philosophical thinking— including on occasion, subtle and ingenious reasoning— is as natural as making music and playing games, and quite as much a part of being human” (36). Children do not seek answers; rather, they uncover the answer through they day-to-day activities.

We know how critical engagement affects children in their learning. To better prepare ourselves, we must remain open to the idea that children are certainly capable of abstract thinking. We can use children’s books as a developmentally appropriate tool to converse about philosophical thinking, and allow children the possibility to discover. However, above all, we must nurture their curiosity.

Advocate

The best way we can advocate for a better understanding of unfolding intelligence, philosophical thinking, and development of children is through creating an environment that can allow children to ask existential questions not only about themselves, but also about their world and surroundings. Philosophical thinking starts at an early age and does not just have to happen in a confined space or time such as a school. By creating a space that allows active engagement and promotes broad, critical thinking, adults can gain a better understanding for children’s unfolding intelligence and later on advocate for their thinking development when they see children inquiry in action.

Philosophy and the Young Child centers around the fresh questions that arise in a child’s mind, which can create a fear amongst adults who seek already made answers and have a form of wisdom and experience that can at times obstruct the development of philosophical thought. In order to create a better understanding, we have to shake free of our established truths and open ourselves to a childlike immaturity and curiosity. By doing so and creating a space for children to embrace their inquisitive minds, we are generating a wide range of questions and answers that can allow children to change and grow rather than develop on a predetermined path. In order to create a setting to do so, we, as adults, should take a step back in order for children to access questions in their purest form. Scaling down our presence can allow children to find the answers through a jungle of questions with trust and support and without fear.

Experts of philosophy with children, including Matthews, have discovered that children are far less bounded by schooling that can create an obscurity on their ability to ask questions than those held back by the education system in college. Inquiry is what solely drives children at t a young age, children, who have more of a fresh philosophical perspective. With our traditional learning methods and pre-planned structures, we need to gain more of improvisation. We can foster that through listening to children, taking advantage of their serendipity, and using dialogue. We should go along with their questions and allow them to explore instead of sticking to a schedule or a planned response. By doing so, we are not only advocating and supporting their inquisitions but also seeing for ourselves how philosophical their thinking can be.

Also, as adults we have motivations such as money, awards, and grades. All we want is to be right and answer questions correctly. Children have inner motivations and just want a gain of knowledge. If we try to break down the boundaries around our learning, we can liberate ourselves and get within the mind of a child. By breaking down these boundaries, we will gain a better understanding of their thinking and intelligence.

Basically, by creating an environment and giving opportunities for children to seek answers to complex questions, we are advocating and proving that children have the ability to engage in inventive, creative, and critical thinking, which leads to a better development.