Philosophy education programs for children have shown great benefits for students around the world. These include improving academic results, as well as other good results such as helping children understand their place in the world.

What is the philosophical program for children?

The idea of ​​teaching philosophy to children started in the seventies when Matthew Liebman and Ann Sharp developed the first philosophical program in primary schools in the past fifty years, and this program has spread to more than 60 countries, and has been used at the university and business world as well as in prisons.

In these programs, he discusses issues related to ethics or personal identity issues, these are essential to understanding ourselves especially during the formative years in school where children develop their identity, for example students in the first and second years can analyze the ethics of telling the truth, and explore whether the lie leads to A positive result, or whether the intention to lie is important, or whether it is important for the lie to be a small white.

Students 5 and 6 can discuss their interpretation of how gender identity is formed. This can lead to questions like: Is sex related to relationships, and can people determine their gender and the gender of their children?

In Australia, children's philosophy education is still largely unfunded and dependent on volunteer-based institutions such as the Victorian Philosophy Association in Schools (VAPS), while in Ireland it adopted children’s philosophy education programs and gave philosophy a primary place in the Irish education system, in the United Kingdom it has A research grant of over $ 2 million was funded to assess the results of philosophy education programs for children at the primary school level (to be completed in 2021).

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Is teaching philosophy for children really effective?

In a study that began in Spain in 2002, more than 400 students in a philosophical program group were followed and 300 others did not participate in philosophy programs, the results showed that children in the philosophy group obtained seven additional IQ points and were more likely to have good social behavior during the project that lasted 12 Years.

Philosophy is a broad topic, which helps develop skills that can be transferred to other academic fields. This partly explains how philosophy programs improve test scores in reading, writing, and mathematics without children having to do any training in reading, writing, or practicing mathematics.

These skills range from clarity and consistency in speaking and listening to providing reasons for arguments, building counter-examples and using theoretical reasoning.

It is more than just test scores ... the benefits of philosophy extend far beyond its measurable effects
Most philosophy teachers find something of value in their nature during their dialogue with children, which is more valuable and important than the results of improved tests that might impress educational officials.

Philosophy is about life, how to get involved in life, and what is the human existence in the world !

It also allows us to ask existential questions and think about how our actions affect the world, so this value for these children exceeds the results of their tests in schools and focus on developing critical thinking skills, and thinking about them, It causes them to wage and argue in a respectful and thoughtful dialogue, besides it helps children to improve their academic results, and for this reason it must be involved in schools as it gives a large space for children to understand the world around them and the meaning of their lives and what their purpose is and thus determine their goal in life and revelation They will grow up knowing the importance of organizing them, avoiding randomness and defining their path to the future.

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