We took our Young Philosophers on their second trip of 2016-17, to the Palace of Westminster. A knowledgeable tour guide entertained us with gruesome history and factoids about the two Houses of Parliament and this elusive building where so many important decisions are made.  Afterwards we met with a local MP in an old meeting room within the palace walls to discuss the children's thoughts on some big questions...

Pete offers some insights on how to develop the child's 'synoptic view' of a conversation or dialogue in the classroom, with two simple techniques - inviting P4C practitioners to comment on their experiences of developing this part of children's philosophical maturity.

Steve Hoggins, another longstanding TPF specialist tackles David's and Pete's arguments on teaching critical thinking in the classroom, offering an alternative suggestion for a 'curious' way of thinking that seeks to straddle the potential divide between increasing confidence and building the child's capacity to withstand critical challenges.

David Birch, a longstanding TPF philosophy specialist offers his thoughts on why it may be the case that teaching critical thinking in schools can go sour.  He suggests the most important thing is to replace the commonplace non-thinking happening in our classrooms with a positive form of thinking.  He advocates an idea of 'confident thinking' rather than 'critical thinking' as he sees how it can have a negative impact on young learners.