Thirty years ago Montclair State established the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC) to support the innovative work of Matthew Lipman and Ann Sharp in findng ways to engage children in philosophical inquiry. Today the Philosophy for Children Program, better known at P4C, is used in schools around the world. With affiliate centers in more than 40 countries and its curriculum translated into nearly that many languages, the IAPC is the premiere center for training professionals in using the P4C curriculum, used by children in preschool through high school.

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the IAPC will hold an international conference Nov. 8-11 at St. Marguerite's Retreat House in Mendham. The conference will conclude on Nov. 11 with a celebratory dinner at 6 p.m. in the Student Center, Dining Room. The event, which will include a slide show presentation and readings of historical anecdotes, is free, but seating is limited to 100 people. For more information, call Joanne Matkowski at 973-655-4278.

"In the past 30 years, hundreds of thousands of school children around the world have experienced the challenge and the excitement of doing philosophy, thanks to the visionary work of Matthew Lipman, and the Institute he founded with Ann Sharp," said Maughn Gregory, director of the IAPC, which has been recognized for its achievements by UNESCO, the U.S. Department of Education and the American Philosophical Association.

"One of the most ancient and prestigious of the disciplines, philosophy was long thought to be too difficult and uninteresting for children, and indeed, for many adults," Gregory explained. "Yet, Mat reasoned that children think constantly and many of the ideas they wonder about--like dreams, fairness, time and friendship--are the same that have occupied philosophers for centuries. So why not offer children the chance to improve their thinking and to make more sense of their world by engaging them in philosophical dialogue?"

In 1969 Lipman wrote the novel Harry Stottlemeier’s Discovery, with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The book depicts a group of adolescents discovering philosophical issues and applying their reasoning to life situations. Field studies showed that children were not only capable of sustained intellectual dialogue about philosophical issues, but that children found the experience intensely meaningful.

"Mat and Ann's early work in Philosophy for Children coincided with a national movement to make critical thinking a major aim of education," Gregory said. A conference in Pre-College Philosophy was held at Montclair State in 1973, and the following year the IAPC was established. Today the IAPC publishes a philosophy curriculum that is used in grades P-12 throughout the world.

Equally innovative as the IAPC's philosophy curriculum was the pedagogical practice developed for doing philosophy with children--the classroom community of inquiry. Classroom philosophy sessions begin with the children sharing a philosophical story and identifying issues of interest to them. They are then facilitated in dialogue by a philosophy college student or a teacher with training in philosophy. The children are engaged in creating hypotheses, clarifying their terms, asking for and giving good reasons, questioning each other's assumptions, drawing inferences and following the inquiry where it leads. "This kind of meaningful classroom dialogue is something most students find irresistible," Sharp said. "They can't help joining in, contributing their own reflections. In this way, cognitive and social skillfulness are acquired naturally and in context."

The IAPC also offers workshops for graduate students and teachers, and sends faculty and graduate students from Montclair State into local schools to practice philosophy with children.

"Many adults forget how important our philosophical wonderings used to be to us as children," Gregory said. "It's very exciting for young people to have the chance to inquire into things they really wonder about but don't ordinarily have the chance or a method to do it. Also, taking responsibility for their own beliefs and values is one of the things about philosophy that most appeals to the children we work with--and for the most part, parents and teachers agree. We would rather have our children consider their beliefs and values carefully, and know why they believe as they do, than just go along with whatever we--or their peers or the media--tell them is important."

Gregory noted that despite early skepticism from the fields of both philosophy and education, Philosophy for Children is now a field with academic and scholastic credentials. "Hundreds of empirical studies have demonstrated the program's effectiveness for teaching multi-dimensional thinking, social interaction, and ethical judgment," he said. "There are three academic journals devoted to the study of Philosophy for Children, including the IAPC's own journal, Thinking.

Montclair State offers graduate degree programs in Philosophy for Children at the certificate, master's and doctoral levels, and the IAPC remains at the center of the world movement bringing children and philosophy together.

"There's no time to rest on our laurels," Gregory said."Besides trying to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for our programs, we continue to update our materials, develop new curricula and push the boundaries of the program's theoretical foundations. Some day, when philosophy is a regular part of school life, these first 30 years will look like just the beginning."