It's a long way from Vermont to Upper Montclair, especially when you're hiking it. And that's exactly how Nathan Brubaker made his way to campus and ultimately decided it was Montclair State where he wanted to pursue a doctorate in pedagogy.

After teaching elementary physical education for four years in Vermont, Brubaker was ready to take his skills working with children to new levels. He hiked the Long Trail from Massachusetts to Canada, and then set off on a three-and-a-half-month venture across the United States, visiting many schools along the way, hoping to find one where he could empty his backpack and begin his studies. He didn't know at the time that part of his quest would lead him to Ukraine.

"I had never traveled overseas, so this was exciting on many levels," said Brubaker, 28, who earned a master's degree in philosophy for children (P4C) in August and is now in the P4C doctoral program. "It was too fabulous an opportunity pass up."

The opportunity was made possible by the Democracy and Education partnership between Montclair State and Kirovograd State Pedagogical University, which introduced P4C to several schools and established Ukraine's first P4C Center. (Click here to read more about the partnership.)

Brubaker spent three weeks last summer at the Kirovograd Collegium where he helped refine children's fluency in English by introducing them to the active group dialogue of philosophical inquiry. "I knew that I would be facilitating philosophical inquiry," he explained. "But I wasn't aware that many of these children had never been exposed to this type of teaching.

"The educational structure seemed very rigid; very didactic," he explained. "It's more teacher-oriented. They weren't used to the concept of teaching through dialogue."

Pictured at left, Nathan Brubaker works with 9- and 10-year-old children at the Kirovograd Collegium in Ukraine. Below, he encourages philosophical inquiry with a group of curious students.

Brubaker had several classes of children, grouped by age. The younger ones, he found, had a more difficult time embracing this new way of teaching, mostly because they knew virtually no English and Brubaker knew no Russian. So he tried something different and took them outside for class. "I wanted to draw upon my physical education background and engage the children in some movement exploration," he explained. "From there we would hopefully find a way to go into philosophical inquiry." It didn't turn out exactly as he had planned. "They simply weren't accustomed to expressive movement. They seemed used to the teacher being the authority figure, telling them exactly what to do."

But as the days went on, Brubaker and the children connected. "By our second week, the floodgates to philosophical inquiry were finally opened," he said. "A young boy nervously wondered why children go to school--immediately triggering lively discussion." The discussions ranged from the purposes of education and the meaning of a diploma to the relation of knowledge to work, play and learning. As students embraced the open-ended inquiry process, the questions and dialogue began to flow.

"Such experience affirmed for me the profound potential of philosophical inquiry for transforming classroom discourse," he said. "Reflective dialogue that democratically values the interests of those involved fosters an authentic interaction seldom realized in schools, both here and abroad."

Brubaker said the experience has made him a better teacher. "I am definitely more aware and more sensitive," he said. "I was inspired by those children after seeing and experiencing their realities. It has given me a different perspective about all we have and the opportunities we take for granted."

Brubaker hopes to return to Ukraine and other places where he can introduce the P4C program. "I would like to teach teachers and apply the ideas of P4C to educational reform," he said. "I want to be a part of reconstructing pedagogy and teaching children well."