ABSTRACT
‘Why’s that woman fat, mummy?’ ‘Shh, darling. She’s not fat!’ This parent, by shutting down such an ‘awkward question’, showed she was no teacher of philosophy. A real learning mentor could take a theme like obesity and construct a whole matrix of fascinating links with diet, health, sport, so-called ‘political correctness’ or sensitivity to other people’s feelings. One class stimulated such interest that the children asked me for more muscle-testing. Inspired by Pooh and the Philosophers (Williams 1997), we tested their reactions to ingesting sugar white and brown; and then honey. The self-evidential results amazed them and, I’m glad to report, delighted the parents. For ten years, I shared ‘awkward questions’ with children starting as young as four. Although called ‘Philosophy’, I referred to these sessions as helping their ‘thinking skills’. Please note that this chapter has the title ‘Philosophy with young children’, suggesting shared thinking.
