By Adesina Wahab

Experts in tbe field of philosophy, who relate with children, have urged parents to allow their children develop and use their innate curious nature to ask questions and thereby develop critical thinking abilities.

This is just as they called on the government to let the National Policy on Education take cognizance of the need to develop creative thinking abilities in the young ones.

The experts are Dr Omolara Oshinowo and Dr Leo Igwe.

Oshinowo, who spoke on “Descartes’ foundationalism as a model for doing philosophy with children,” at a forum organized by the Critical Thinking Social Empowerment Foundation in conjunction with the Department of Philosophy, the University of Lagos, UNILAG, said children are naturally inquisitive and they should not be shut down when they ask questions.

“Children must be allowed to use their innate curious nature. It will allow them to think outside the box. We should not box them inside the box. Creative thinking is problem solving in nature. The National Policy on Education does not take into consideration the need for creative thinking in children, this must be redressed,” she said.

Also, Dr Leo Igwe, a member of the International Council of Philosophical Inquiry with Children and director of Critical Thinking Social Empowerment Foundation, emphasized why philosophy for children matters in Nigeria.

“Until recently, I dismissed the idea of a philosophy for or with children because such an endeavour seemed to be of no consequence. I was of the notion that children were too young, intellectually immature to engage in philosophical inquiry. I thought that philosophical endeavours were for adults, and ‘matured’ minds. My belief was that philosophy was too abstract, too dry for children to undertake, exercise, comprehend or relate to. I studied philosophy for my first and second degrees. Even as an eighteen year old, I struggled to understand philosophical arguments, dialogues and propositions. “Moreso I was used to those images of grey adult, not infant philosophers in pensive and introspective moods. I had wondered: “Are children able to grapple with ultimate questions such as: why is there something rather than nothing? Why is there anything at all? Where do we come from? Where are we going? Does life have a purpose etc?”

 “So, the idea of doing philosophy with children never clicked, it never resonated with me. I never found it attractive and worthwhile. It sounded like some unserious childish stuff. I regarded philosophy as a rigorous discipline not a child’s play. Again I read about Socrates got into serious trouble as a result of his philosophical endeavours. He was found guilty of impiety and of corrupting the youths of his days. This spectre of irreverence and contamination of the youths has haunted philosophy ever since.

“But not too long ago I had a change of mind. I made a U-turn. I rediscovered doing philosophy with children. I noticed that philosophical thought had no age bracket, that the art of deep thinking and reflection was not only for or of adult. Philosophy starts with children. Every child embodies philosophical moments, and dispositions, the sentiments of curiosity, reflection, ratiocination, exploration and other accessories. I realized that children philosophized and engaged in reasoned thinking and inquiry.

“I rediscovered philosophy for, by and with children not in the course of some idle speculation, aimless wonder and wander but in the quest to foster critical thinking in schools. In the course of my masters and doctoral programmes, lecturers, mentors and supervisors talked so much about critical thinking and analysis. They urged students to think critically and creatively about subjects, topics and texts.

“My supervisors nudged me a number of times to think critically about the literature, existing knowledge and in analyzing my data. And at different times I paused to ask: “What does it mean to think critically?” What does it mean to critically review the literature, a text or a presentation. I wondered: “If critical thinking were so important why didn’t they teach it as a subject in schools?” In addition, I read that critical and creative thinking skills were among the most sought after skills by employers of labour in this 21st Century.

“So, when I returned to Nigeria after my doctoral programme, I made it a point of duty to introduce the subjects of critical and creative reasoning in schools. Students should not be expected to think critically when there are no subjects, teachers or programmes devoted to inculcating critical thinking skills. I was looking for an effective way to pitch the argument for the improvement of reasoning and thinking skills in schools especially in primary and secondary schools.

“Primary schools teach verbal and quantitative reasoning. These subjects help student understand how to form and use words, make sentences, number and recognize shapes. But these mental habits are not enough. A separate and distinct subject is needed to inculcate critical sentiments, and get children to question whatever they are taught. As a habit students should question what they read, learn, count, number and draw. I was looking for a way to introduce a subject or discipline that fosters critical thought and reflective inquiry in schools, a subject that allows students to freely express and exercise their curiosity and inquisitiveness. Schools put so much emphasis on rote learning and memorization. They mainly use “states-and-capitals” “A-for-Apple” approach. Our school system made students think in terms of answers and solutions. Our schools needed a subject that rewarded children for posing and generating questions not answers, and for thinking in terms of questions.

“I did not want this subject or discipline to be one that was completely unknown, one that would be difficult to market or introduce. I wanted a subject that would be appealing and able deliver these thinking skills and habits to Nigerian children. Simply put I wanted a subject that would make critical thinking fun. That was how I rediscovered philosophy and reconnected with philosophy for children.

“In the course of my research, I found out that philosophy for children was offered in schools across the world, in many parts Europe, America, and Asia. Even school teachers in South Africa were doing philosophy with children. I was surprised that there were no schools that I knew that offered the course. Nigerian school managers tend to introduce subjects when they noticed such disciplines were taught in western schools. I wondered why that did not happened in the case of philosophy for children. May be because of the assumed corrupting influence of philosophy?

“Well, I discovered active networks of teachers, educators and facilitators of philosophy for and with children including International Council of Philosophical Inquiry with Children (ICPIC). ICPIC has members in over 64 countries. I joined the council and occasionally receive updates on their upcoming events. I saw some other national and regional philosophy for children associations like SAPERE in the UK, SOPHIA(Europe), and PLATO(the US). I wondered why Nigerian schools and teachers were not actively involved in the project of doing philosophy with and for children.

“Some people may think that I am trying to force this discipline on schools and our children. Far from it. Look, doing philosophy with children aligns with our national policy on education. This document acknowledges the value of philosophical inquiry with and by children. Page ten of the National Policy on Education states that one of the goals of primary education is to foster scientific, critical and reflective thinking. Unfortunately we do not have the subjects, teachers and materials to realize this objective. Philosophy for children aims to fill this gap and address this need.

“So it is pertinent that all stakeholders in education and academia encourage philosophy with children in schools. We need to improve the reasoning and argumentative skills of pupils and students. And one of the ways to accomplish this goal is to promote the teaching of philosophy for children in schools, and facilitate research in the field of philosophy for children. Philosophy for children can be taught as a stand alone subject like other subjects offered in school. It can also be taught as an infused subject. In this case, the topic of philosophy for children is integrated into the regular curriculum and other subjects.

“Undergraduates, and postgraduates students, doctoral and postdoctoral fellows in philosophy and education should consider doing their research, theses and articles on philosophy for children, and also becoming teachers and facilitators of P4C. P4C is an understudied, under researched and underexplored field of study and holds a lot of promise for child education and research in Nigeria. That is why we are delighted to have Dr Omolara Oshinowo who recently defended her doctoral thesis in this area discuss Descartes’ Foundationalism as Model for Doing Philosophy with Children. We hope that more students in philosophy and education would explore other models of doing philosophy with children in Nigeria.”

In his comment, the Head of Department, Prof. C.B. Okoro, thanked the lecturer and Igwe for a job well done and noted that the lecture was an eye opener in the area of philosophy with children.