can do with the
Community Ball
While this activity may take the whole length of your session, if you have extra time you can play a speed game with the community ball. The game begins with every member of the community raising her hand. Once the timer is set, the members try to pass the ball to each participant just once in the fastest amount of time. There are a couple of rules: the student with the ball must call out the name of the person she is throwing it to before doing so and no one can throw it to someone on either side of herself. You may want your students to record their times to provide incentive and see how their cooperation has progressed (or lagged) over the course of the year.
The students often enjoy the physically active nature of this game after a full session of intellectually active philosophy. Or, on the other hand, if the session seems to be falling apart due to restlessness, especially with the younger ones, a round or two of SpeedBall can end the session on an enthusiastic note.
The �Rules� of the Ball � Who�s Got the Ball? And the Right to Pass
While your philosophy session should not have to be dominated by rules and regulations-- since P4C is grounded in the spontaneous and creative thinking that children naturally engage in-- the students do need to learn how to �safely� dialogue with one another. Indeed, Philosophy with Children operates best when certain �rules� of safe and respectful inquiry are internalized by the members of the community. This process of internalization can only take place if it is taught early-- alongside other fundamental aspects of P4C.
The first �rule� is the Who�s Got the Ball? rule. Simply, a member of the community can only speak once he/she has been tossed the community ball. Thus, the ball marks the direction of everyone�s attention and active listening. Since safety is paramount in our community, it is essential that each member respect the designated speaker and allow him/her to contribute to the dialogue in her own time and manner. Students often get impatient with classmates who are having trouble articulating their thoughts or are taking too long with their turn. So as to avoid the development of this kind of attitude and restlessness, it is necessary to stress early on the �virtues� of patience, understanding, and community cooperation. Since our goal is to scratch beneath the surface together, it is necessary to realize that everyone contributes to this endeavor and that we must (and indeed we want to!) give every member the opportunity to contribute. In providing such an opportunity, the other members of the community do not have a passive role-- they should be attentively listening and actively thinking (that is, in terms of the Tool Kit: What does she mean by that? Is she assuming something? Can I think of a counterexample to that?). Each articulation of the subject matter is another inch closer we have come to seeing what an answer to our question might look like. So this first rule of the ball may seem rather simple, but, indeed, it carries with it some significant lessons regarding participation and responsibility in an intellectually safe community.
Since teachers are accustomed to holding the voice of authority in the classroom for most of the day, it�s a good challenge to see if you can also abide by this rule. In the Philosophy Circle, we are all students as well as teachers to one another-- but this is only accomplished if the teacher is willing to entertain such a change in the classroom dynamic. Teachers have found this to be both refreshing (because it gives you a rest and a fresh perspective) and enlightening (because you may see what the kids are really capable of-- both in thinking and in maturely managing themselves).
The second �rule� of the ball is the Right to Pass. That is, if you�ve been passed the ball and you�ve forgotten what you want to say, are too shy to say what you wanted to say, want to think about it some more (or whatever the reason), you have every right to pass the ball to another member of the community. Because the philosophy circle is a safe place, there is absolutely no reason why anyone should feel �put on the spot� or feel like they have to contribute via speaking. In philosophy, we try to emphasize and, thus, bolster the role of the active listener, thereby refocusing our normal conception of what participation is in a dialogue. Participation involves speaking, but it also (and very importantly) requires listening and thinking.