The current Philosophy in Public Schools (PiPS) program at UMass was created in 2016, but it is a natural continuation of outreach work by the UMass Philosophy Department that has been happening, off and on, since the 1960s. The purpose of the PiPS program is to bring philosophy students from UMass and the other Five Colleges into public schools in Western Massachusetts to do philosophy with K–12 students. So far, we have mainly worked with second graders, but our program can be adapted for any age group.
Every year, we offer a PiPS course at UMass in which we train undergraduate students to lead philosophical discussions with children. Toward the end of the semester, each student in this class, together with volunteers who were trained in previous years, leads 5–6 discussions with a small group of children at one of our partner schools in Springfield or Holyoke. A typical discussion starts with a short narrative or dialogue, often from a children’s book. Facilitators then help the participants think through a series of philosophical questions about the story.
We currently offer a variety of different modules. Sample topics include:
- What Makes Right Actions Right?
- Time Travel
- What Are Friends For?
- What Is Happiness?
- Logic Puzzles
- What Is the Meaning of Life?
- Responding to Systemic Injustice: Malcolm, Martin, and Beyond
- The Problem of Freedom and Determinism