Thomas Wartenberg
Host of Little Voices, Big IdeasThomas E. Wartenberg is Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Mount Holyoke College. He has published two books related to the idea of philosophy for children: Big Ideas for Little Kids: Teaching Philosophy Through Children’s Literature (Rowman and Littlefield, 2nd Edition 2014), and A Sneetch is A Sneetch and Other Philosophical Discoveries: Finding Wisdom in Children’s Literature (Wiley Blackwell, 2013). The program that he founded, Teaching Children Philosophy, was awarded the 2011 APA/PDC Prize for Excellence and Innovations in Philosophy Programs. He has created two other websites for discussing philosophy with young people:whatsthebigideaprogram.com andmuseumphilosophy.com. He received the 2013 Merritt Prize for his contributions to the philosophy of education. His course, Philosophy for Children, is the subject of a PBS documentary (accessible athttp://wgby.org/bigideas) which won a New England Emmy in 2015.
My book choice is Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel. The stories in this book raise really important questions about central ethical concepts in our lives. The very simplicity of the stories is deceiving, for the issues that are raised are important ones: bravery, self-control, being alone, friendship. Despite being a classic, it remains relevant to students today and the concerns they have/face.
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In this episode, we explore what makes this tale so endearing--and enduring--and why Where the Wild Things Are allows parents and children to have tame talks about the pain of punishment, and the healing power of the imagination. -
Anansi the spider, the thieving trickster at the heart of Eric Kimmel’s Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock, offers up an opportunity for pushing past mere moralizing toward more nuanced conversations about when tricks cross over into deception territory--and even when a seemingly harmless little lie may not be seen as such by others. -
In this episode, we discuss Jacqueline Woodson’s The Other Side, a beautifully illustrated picture book set during the segregation era--and how to use it to invite safe, non-didactic conversations about how our racial differences have divided us, and how we can take the conversation forward. -
Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are, takes readers on an extraordinary journey into the imagination of the wildest thing… -
There’s plenty of attention given to the pursuit of “happily ever after” in stories of all sorts. But how should we go about acquiring happiness? Is there… -
Of all the difficult subjects deserving of discussion with children, race and racism are perhaps the most required, and least easy to address. In fact,…
