South Korean professor introduces his unique Philosophy for Children at the Ministry of Education

Professor Dzhinvan Park from South Korea presented his educational methodology on philosophy for children during the round table  - learning by rote is not an option. Or in other words, creativity and philosophy can change education in schools. The event was held on 29 June on the premises of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

In recent years, Professor Dzhinvan Park has held a dozen events for students, teachers, parents, and educationalists in Ukraine, during which he has been describing detail his Philosophy for Children methods.

"Of all the countries where my techniques have been brought into play, Ukraine could become one of the most successful. The secret is simple: here there are creative teachers, and pupils and students ready for new developments, and they are enthusiastic about experimenting. The complexity of this approach is in the need to simultaneously both teach and learn. It's really difficult. But my experience after being 29 days in Ukraine, is that I am impressed by the level of Ukrainian teachers. This is important because the effectiveness of the techniques does not depend on the introduction of a law or regulation, it depends on the human factor, how the teachers and students themselves are ready for change", said Dzhinvan Park.

Professor Park’s techniques, called simply Philosophy for Children have been successfully implemented in 80 countries around the world. The method is based on teaching children to debate, to weigh up the pros and cons of a situation, form their own opinions and incorporate the opinions of those they are speaking to. According to the professor, you need to move away from the traditional learning by rote of information in schools. Instead, teach children to include logic and defend their opinions.

"Today, we are developing the concept of the New Ukrainian School, which aims to ensure that education in Ukraine is not just to high standards, but also genuinely interesting for those studying. Therefore we are searching for options and studying effective approaches, and particularly looking at international experience. It is important that lessons spark interest so that children learn not just because they have to, but because it is really interesting", said Liliya Hrynevych, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine.

Exemplary of the methods used in the implementation of Philosophy for Children was the British experience. According to research conducted in 2015, involving three thousand children from 48 schools, it was found that pupils who went through the Philosophy for Children programme had greater success in studying mathematics and literature. Also, on the whole, the programme increased the success of students.

 "The issue of quality education is foremost in our thinking. We can see that today's children aspire to new knowledge, they are creative, thoughtful and memorising  books is not enough for them. They want to look for new opportunities to realize their ideas, opinions and thoughts. Our task is to encourage students to study at a qualitatively new level", said Stanislav Dovhiy, President of the Junior Academy of Science.

It is important that the Philosophy for Children course includes not only lectures but workshops. Children from an early age begin to discuss important social issues during their lessons, such as "should criminals be deprived of their freedom?" Or "should you transplant a healthy heart into a patient for whom no one seems to care?" In the future this approach will prepare children for conscious and responsible participation in society, encouraging an adequate assessment of reality and the ability to make decisions independently.

 "I would like to support the optimism of Professor Park in introducing his techniques to us, but as the Ministry of Education and Science, we see our task in the fact that such education is not exclusive to a select group of children. We want as many children in Ukraine as possible to have access to such training, and such approaches to teaching", said Liliya Hrynevych.

Note:

Dzhinvan Park is a Professor at Gyeongsang National University in South Korea, Vice-President of the International Philosophy for Children Council,  President of the Philosophy for Children council in Asia and Oceania, co-founder of the Korean Academy for teaching philosophy at schools, a UNESCO expert and a leading expert on Philosophy for children techniques in the Asia-Pacific region.