This term we have a huge number of clubs for the children to attend during and after school. One of the newer clubs started this half term: philosophy club.
In philosophy club, we have been looking at some of the really big questions that many of us have regarding life, ourselves and the world. We do this with the aim of thinking critically, creatively and rationally, developing argumentative skills and skills of enquiry, practicing justifying our answers, and reflecting on complex issues while searching for meaning together. This exploration of values and knowledge empowers children to be confident, active citizens.
Each week, the children tackle a number of quick inquiries, having short discussions on topics such as, are humans more important than other animals? Or, is the world wonderful? And, is it ever ok to not try? Interestingly, when we first ask these questions everyone seems to have a clear idea of what they think, but once we open up the discussion we start to see that often these things aren’t as black and white as they first appear!
We then move on to a bigger discussion. Last week we looked at superheroes: what makes someone a superhero, the difference between a hero and a superhero, and whether ordinary people can be superheroes. After sharing our thoughts about these questions, we had a good discussion about what really makes someone a superhero. Then, we got into pairs and created our own superheroes, designing their costumes and focusing on what it is that makes them super.
Throughout our discussion, traits that came up frequently included kindness and bravery and it was interesting to see how much importance the children put on these values. There was also a clear understanding of superheroes doing something good, in comparison to the baddies who were doing something bad. This is a topic we will definitely be exploring further next term!