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Philosophy for Children

Lately, I’ve been using my personal Facebook account as a way to keep up with the news. (I will always be missing you, Google Reader.) I was happy to see an article from NPR pop up on my feed called “Green Eggs, Ham And Metaphysics: Teaching Hard Ideas With Children’s Books.” I was delighted to see this because I graduated with an BA in Philosophy, a subject I was very passionate about once upon a time. Although I’ve long felt a sense of appreciation for those thoughtful picture books that resonate with me as adult, I hadn’t thought of merging the world of youth services in libraries with philosophy.

I’d forgotten that it was Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder, a book about a teenage girl who learns of (Western) philosophy and the magic of of thinking about big questions through letters with a philosopher, that encouraged me to spend my undergraduate years wondering. I’d been touched by the following passage that proposed that human adults are inquiring children who have forgotten about their curiosity.

“A white rabbit is pulled out of a top hat. Because it is an extremely large rabbit, the trick takes many billions of years. All mortals are born at the very tip of the rabbit's fine hairs. where they are in a position to wonder at the impossibility of the trick. But as they grow older they work themselves even deeper into the fur. And there they stay. They become so comfortable they never risk crawling back up the fragile hairs again. Only philosophers embark on this perilous expedition to the outermost reaches of language and existence. Some of the fall off, but other cling on desperately and yell at the people nestling deep in the snug softness, stuffing themselves with delicious food and drink.” - Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World

After reading the article, I did some sleuthing and found the documentary “Big Ideas for Little Kids.” It was inspiring to see children form their opinions and discuss things with each other in a safe environment after listening to a story. Through doing philosophy, children developed communication skills that allowed them to have meaningful discussions with their peers rather than argue endlessly during recess.

I was lucky enough to attend the “Philosophy in the Schools” workshop over the summer that was hosted by the University of Washington’s Center for Philosophy for Children.

The attendees of the workshop were predominantly educators working with youths of all ages. One attendee who had started a philosophy club at a high school remarked that a student made a suggestion that there should be a class period where students are allowed to just think. Another teacher spoke of a student who was surprised to hear that a teacher actually cared about what students thought. Upon listening to their anecdotes, I could not help but think of libraries, librarians, and the following quote.

“The pursuit of knowing was freedom to me, the right to declare your own curiosities and follow them through all manner of books. I was made for the library, not the classroom. The classroom was a jail of other people’s interests. The library was open, unending, free. Slowly, I was discovering myself.” Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me

Library mission statements are sprinkled with words such as “people”, “ideas”, “learning”, and “information.” Libraries and librarians promote self directed learning and encourages users to pursue their own interests.

Here is a brief outline of the sessions I attended at the workshop accompanied by relevant resources:

“Non-philosophical” activities for exploring philosophy

Pass the Clap, Word Association, Counting to Ten, Blind Painting are games that develop and encourage focus, communication, active listening, being present, trust, participation, and awareness.

Questions: The Three Questions by Jon Muth

A boy named Nikolai explores the questions: What is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do? The book can be used to encourage children to be curious and identify and explore questions that they find most important.

Link: Wondering Aloud: Philosophy With Young People: The Three Questions

Elementary school - Gender: The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

Published in 1980, the story flips the script on typical fairy tales about princes rescuing princesses and can spark lively conversation about gender roles and how the story differs from other fairy tales.

Link: The Paper Bag Princess | Teaching Children Philosophy

Rules and Compromises: The Zax by Dr. Seuss

This story of two stubborn characters inspired a discussion about pride and whether pride is good or bad. During the discussion, a question was raised about whether it’s proper for parents to tell their children that they are proud of them.

Link: The Zax | Teaching Children Philosophy

Social inequalities/race and racism: Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles

This was a powerful story that explores the friendship of an African American boy and caucasian boy during the 60s. The story can inspire conversations about friendship and inequality.

Link: Freedom Summer

Friendship & bullying: Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

This picture book focuses on the poor treatment of a new student by her peers. Along with friendship and bullying, further questions can be raised about what it means to be kind.

Link: Philosophers in the Schools

Middle/high school - Meaning of life game

After being introduced to The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Lead, students are split into groups and are given a bag of the same set of materials such as paperclips, marbles, and straws. They are asked to re-construct a game with the materials and must present a title, objectives and rules of the game. After the students present their games, they must vote on which of the games closely resembles the original game. The winner opens an envelope which contains the instructions for the original game. Ultimately, the page is revealed to be blank. Students can discuss their existential personal reactions and revelations after the activity.

Link: Story of Ferdinand | Teaching Children Philosophy

Refugee politics: The Color of Home by Mary Hoffman

The book strongly evokes the question of the meaning of home and is incredibly relevant to current events and understanding the lives of refugees.

Thinking about animals: an activity

Students think aloud about two questions: 1. Why we care about animals? 2. Why don’t we care about animals?

In the next activity, a picture of a panda and a water beetle are presented and students are asked which they care about more. It is later revealed that both are endangered species.

Professional Development

While I was in college, I decided to take the summer off to work in a restaurant that had just opened downtown. Since I had never worked in the food industry, I thought it would be smart to start as a hostess until I felt comfortable enough to try serving. Within the week, however, I was promoted to a server position due to a shortage in staff. I was hesitant at the prospect of interacting with “hangry” people but as a broke college student, how could I turn down the opportunity?

After a very short and informal training stint involving following around another server and exploring the Point of Sale system during slow periods, I was let loose to wait on the customers. I quickly learned that the abilities to seek mentors, adapt to new situations, not sweat the small stuff, and act swiftly and independently were important for surviving those hectic lunch hours when we only had two servers to wait on a packed restaurant. Even though I was out of school, my time spent serving from 11am-midnight, 6 days a week became an incredibly valuable and insightful learning experience for me. Despite having no experience, little training, and making lots of mistakes along the way (e.g. that time I dropped someone’s meal on the floor), I felt like a seasoned server by the end of the summer.

Of course, I can understand that training staff takes a back seat when the turnover rate in the food industry is so high but I do think about the times when I felt unsupported as an employee. Now, nothing frustrates me more than when management is quick to criticize and simultaneously refuses to communicate constructive advice, expectations, or share helpful resources for improvement. I’ve learned to ask questions about professional development and training opportunities when I’m applying to libraries/anywhere because I want to work for a library/company that prioritizes supporting its staff.

It’s important that the idea of libraries as places for lifelong learning and continuing education permeates through the organization to include patrons and the staff who serves them.

I consider myself lucky to work for a library system that provides many opportunities for professional growth such as in person workshops and online webinars from public library-centric topics such as reader’s advisory, mental health, and cultural diversity to lifelong learning topics such as mindfulness, chair yoga, and mastering fear. I appreciate that these opportunities for professional development provide staff of all levels with a chance to get to know each other and share thoughts and ideas.

I’m also appreciative of the many resources that are available on-line for free. Listening to webinars while doing housework is one way to get two things done at once and they were particularly motivating when I was without a library job after moving across the country. Here are a few websites that I’ve found helpful:

Library Related

https://www.webjunction.org - Leadership, Staff Training, Library Service, Technology, and Programs.

http://www.ala.org/pla/onlinelearning/webinars/ondemand - Administration/Leadership, Adult Services, Advocacy/Marketing, Collection Development/Readers' Advisory, Customer Service/Staff Development, Literacy, Technology, and Youth Services.

http://www.booklistonline.com/webinars - Collections Development and Reader’s Advisory

https://floridalibrarywebinars.org/events/tags/ondemand/ - “The training is focused on technology skills, customer service and other personal and professional development.”

Youth Services

http://learn.libraryjournal.com/webcasts/ - “Designed to unlock new and developing issues facing libraries, these insightful webcasts cover a variety of content for many different facets of the library profession.”

http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/webinars.cfm - Program Funding, Sustainability and Grants, Research and Analysis with Afterschool Experts, Practical Guides, and How-to's.

http://www.earlychildhoodwebinars.com/presentations/ - Topics are focused on early childhood education.

Volunteering with Reading Partners

From September to May, Thursdays usually meant that it was my day to spend a few hours volunteering. When I moved to Seattle in August 2015, I knew that I would miss working with kids and sought an organization that supported literacy. Thanks to VolunteerMatch, a wonderful resource that offers a great number of opportunities, I was able to find Reading Partners.

What is Reading Partners?

In their policy platform, Reading Partners describes themselves as “a national education nonprofit dedicated to improving students’ reading students. We recruit and train community volunteers to work one-on-one with students in low-income elementary schools to tutor students from low-income communities who are reading below grade-level. Reading Partners is an example of an evidence-based, public-private partnership that can bring substantial resources to schools.”

What does each session with Reading Partners look like?

I attended orientation at the start of the 2015-2016 school year and was pleasantly surprised to learn that every 45 minute session with the student was incredibly well-structured!

Here is an example of one lesson’s agenda that I used while working with a 1st grade Beginning Reader student:

Volunteers were asked to come in 10-15 minutes before each session to review the lesson for the day. The lessons are summarized on the front of each lesson packet. Students progressed through 3 levels according to their assessed ability to read from emerging reader to beginning reader to comprehension reader.

Encouraging a Love of Reading

I loved that each session began with a 10 minute tutor read aloud in which students chose from a library of books that are categorized by grade level and subjects such as biographies, sports, animals, and science. The collection grew as the school year continued.

I so enjoyed getting to know the reading preferences of the students that I tutored. One student, a 1st grader, seemed to always choose Magic Treehouse chapter books because he liked that there were “always things happening” and he didn’t seem to be too thrilled about having silly books read to him such as B.J. Novak’s Book with No Pictures. A 3rd grader, on the other hand, was so entertained by the book that he asked me to read it to him over and over again with great zeal! Another 1st grader seemed to be absorbed by any kind of book at all and especially loved informational text with lots of colorful pictures of animals and bugs.

I was able to supplement the choices by bringing in books that I handpicked for the students that I worked with and used this as an opportunity to hone my reader’s advisory skills. I brought in a variety of books such as Choose Your Own Adventure Books for a child who loved playing video games and my signed copy of an Adventure Time graphic novel for a child who loved the show but did not know there was a print version. The toughest part of bringing in books was not allowing the children to keep it when they begged to take them home since it’s against the rules to give gifts. (Let’s hope that they take my advice and go to a library to check them out during the summer!)

These tutor read aloud portions were important in building the relationship between the student and the tutor. Students seemed to be thrilled that an adult was not only reading to them but were genuinely interested in hearing about how they felt about certain parts of the book. The kids were so eager to tell me all the things they already knew about the subject of the book and I relished in the moments where they could shine.

Another way that Reading Partners helps children gain a love of reading is by rewarding children with books to take home. Students are able to take a book home with them if they bring back a book report. After a certain number of book reports, the student could get a toy prize. (This incentive proved to be very effective for one of my students who brought back over 20 book reports!)

Teaching Literacy Skills

During the read aloud portion, the student and I would try to find a word that’s new to add to their word journal. This activity helped teach student strategies that they could use when they encounter words that are unfamiliar to them. We’d use tools for learning new words such as finding it in the dictionary, drawing a picture, or writing a sentence. Vocabulary words were reviewed at each session to help the student’s vocabulary grow. It was surprising to learn that some 1st grade students had never used a dictionary before. I found that these students were excited about learning how to use one and enjoyed looking for word definitions.

For students who hadn’t mastered the alphabet yet, simple games were used to reinforce letter sounds. Even though these games were simple, they were always well received by the students. (Hooray for gamification! I am such a fan of play.) A binder ring was used to coach the student on letters that the student has mastered and an unfamiliar letter was added each lesson.

As the students progressed in the program, they were asked to do more writing and spelling on their own and to look for meaning in the text.

Comprehension was taught in a variety of ways such as:

introducing parts of the book (e.g. table of contents, diagrams, digraphs, glossary)

instructing students about summarizing

asking questions that required students to think about what they just read

discussing the characters, setting, sequence of events, and plot

previewing informational text and setting a goal (i.e. what the child wants to learn from the book) before reading

Volunteering for Professional Development

Reading Partners offered many valuable resources for volunteers to become better educators. As I think librarians are also educators, I hope that what I’ve learned as a tutor will help me become a better librarian.

Monthly newsletters offered tips to implement during tutoring sessions and monthly workshops were provided to teach interested volunteers about being more effective tutors.

One workshop that I attended was about making the most out of the tutor read aloud and focused on asking the right kinds of questions.

As an aspiring youth services librarian, I gained so much from volunteering with Reading Partners. The research-based approach, well developed lesson plans, and partnership with an underserved elementary school gave me insight to how schools teach our young people how to read. Working one-on-one with children was extremely beneficial for understanding the kinds of difficulties that students and their caregivers may face when it comes to learning to read. Listening to a child read aloud and coaching them through tough words allowed me to gain skills as a mentor. Since I worked with different students, I also learned about different learning styles and how to be accommodating and flexible.

Many, if not all, of the volunteers have a love of reading that they wish to inspire in the children that they tutor. It was inspiring for me to see people in the community come together for the same goal of helping a struggling child learn how to read. Honestly, I felt apprehensive before the sessions because I worried about not being an effective tutor but I always felt good about volunteering whatever the outcome. The program itself was supportive to developing skills in their volunteers too.

Podcast: What I Should Read Next?

I’ve been absolutely addicted to the literary matchmaking podcast called “What Should I Read Next?” which made its debut this past January.

In each episode bookish blogger Anne asks her guests to name 3 loved books, books they hated, what they are currently reading and finally what they would like to change in their reading lives. After the discussion, Anne offers personalized recommendations to her guests and asks what they will read next.

Anne talks with a 12 year old avid reader in the latest episode who discovers books from peers, bookstores, and libraries. When Anne asks about her methods of finding new books, she says that she likes to skim the ‘new reads’ shelf’ at her local library.

#reader's advisory

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4YkpPXKDRM)

Review: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

I often get bogged down trying to find just the right thing to read. I’ll take nibbles out of books simply to have a taste. It’s rare when a book begins consuming me instead. Those elusive and gratifying moments are what I crave most.

The memories of immersing myself in a new reality is what keeps me browsing for much too long in bookstores, libraries, and (as of late) Overdrive. A few days ago I found myself flipping through pages and pages of eBooks. I read summaries and added a number of titles to my wish list. There was a lot of button pressing going on for much longer than I care to admit. I have a love hate relationship with browsing. On the one hand, I’m expressing my ability to make choices. On the other hand, it’s hard to make choices when there are so many great ones! (First world problems…)

In my search, I came across Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock and remembered that I had been intrigued by the book a few browsing sessions ago. It’s as though the book cover haunted me and I noticed it whenever I saw it at bookstores or libraries. I decided to read at least the first chapter. As luck would have it, the book hooked me from the start. Told in first person, it follows the musings of the lead character Leonard Peacock. From the onset, readers learn of Leonard’s grim mission--to take another’s life as well as his own.

Leonard Peacock exhibits an existential attitude in his observations. He is a thoughtful character who thinks critically about how his peers and how the adults around him live their lives. As a suicidal character, Leonard questions the meaning of life and often finds absurdity. A complex individual, Leonard finds beauty in classical music as performed in secret by a classmate who is a violinist. He feels compassion for the slew of adults that he witnesses on their commutes to and from work. Leonard views them as being bound by society rules and wants them to be free from their self imposed chains. He silently urges them to do what makes them happiest. His views can sometimes be interestingly romantic and cynical at the same time reflecting conflicting feelings of a teenager who feels that he doesn't fit in. Throughout the book Leonard expresses his desire to die but also expresses his desire to be saved. Ultimately, the plot culminates in a powerful scene that depicts Leonard in his most vulnerable state in which he engages with a compassionate human being.

Mathhew Quick does a fantastic job of writing from the perspective of a teenage boy who is going through a lot in his life. (It’s almost as though Quick actually was a teenage boy before!) The dialogue between the characters are believable and natural. Good writing inspires personal reflection and I had feelings of deja vu and nostalgia of my former teenage self while reading Leonard’s insights and understanding of the world and society.

While Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock can be utilized as a catalyst to discuss the difficult topic of suicide, it can also provide a means to discuss philosophical topics such as what makes life worth living and what makes a person good or evil. The French author, philosopher, and Nobel laureate Albert Camus begins “The Myth of Sisyphus” by writing:

“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.”

#book review #ya fiction

Hooray for LeVar Burton!

I’m relieved that I’m not the only person guilty of doing the first thing in the video...

Once Missing, Now Returned

I’d like to imagine that I’m like a book that was misshelved somewhere and has made a miraculous and mysterious reappearance. This “book” is still getting acclimated to its new environment--the pacific northwest!

I’m experiencing my first true autumn here in Washington. While the state motto remains true, the evergreen state still had a showing of beautiful gold and crimson leaves that fell from their stems like glitter. I look forward to next year when I can fully appreciate the short time in which the leaves are changing colors and I can’t help but wonder where I’ll be at that time.

Still seeking my new library home, I’m spending my time volunteering at a local library and at a school as a tutor with Reading Partners. Working with youths helps to keep me motivated as I continue my quest to become a youth services librarian. Motivation, I am learning, is a valuable commodity. Its value is steadily increasing as I work through this chilly holiday season in retail and as I try to find work in a library.

This past weekend, I attended my first library conference--YALSA’s Young Adult Services Symposium. I’ll preface my future post regarding the conference by saying that my experience was intensely bittersweet. While I was inspired by what I learned in the sessions I attended, I was also disappointed in myself that I had no place to apply anything. As speakers understandably prompted the audience to think about their own library spaces, programs, and patrons, I found myself feeling very out of place.

Even though this “feeling out of place” thing has been a reoccurring theme lately it was exacerbated since I hadn’t heard back from human resources after interviewing for an entry level position which I thought went well. I know I probably shouldn’t be so critical since I have recently transplanted to a new place. I know that the questions that cross my mind do nothing more than slay my spirits. I must fight against self doubt if I want to make my dreams come true. There seems to be no better way to reignite my spirits than by getting back into this project.

I created this display using discarded dictionaries and children's books. Hanging stars featuring characters from beloved children's books such as Madeline, Eloise, and Dr. Seuss inspire caregivers to read to children and participate in the early literacy program called 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten at the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach.

Thank you kindly to the librarian who helped me hang the display and who inspired me to become a youth services librarian, Miss Jeanne.

Minneapolis Public Library

Children’s Area

The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species.

Carl Sagan

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7aJ3xaDMuM)

In which the Fine Brothers ask “What do you think about a future where some teenagers have never read an actual book?"

Library Tourist Planning

I will be moving across the country in less than two months. In an effort to make the most of the seven day trek Westward I’ve been researching libraries to visit.

In conducting my research on “must-see” libraries I’ve come across these resources that helped me narrow down my choices:

ALA/IIDA Library Interior Design Award - A bicentennial award given to libraries that are “judged on the basis of excellence in aesthetics, design, creativity, function, and satisfaction of the client's objectives.”

America’s Star Libraries, 2014: Top-Rated Libraries - “The LJ Index is a measurement tool that compares U.S. public libraries with their spending peers based on four types of output measures of their per capita use.”

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scUlLWi5Pgc)

An interview with prominent members in YouTube’s BookTube community.

#BookTube

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH6gH6lMDD8)

I simply adore the Library Lovers Tag created by Josie on her Youtube channel PiandBooks!

The tag consists of the following 7 questions:

How often do you visit you local library?

Are you the type of person who checks out more books than you know you can read or are you someone who only checks out the exact amount of books you intend on reading before they are due?

How old were you when you got your first library card?

Do you go to your library looking for a particular book or do you check out anything that peaks your interest?

Do you use your library to check out just books or do you also check out dvds, audiobooks etc.?

From what section of your library do you check out a majority of your books? ( YA, middle grade, adult, nonfiction.)

What is your favorite part of using your local library?

#boooktube #youtube

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