Is it possible to be brave when you are scared out of your wits? How do you know that you are not dreaming now, since you often awake from a dream unsure if it really was a dream? If everyone kept telling you that you weren't the person you thought you were, would you eventually believe them despite your own sense of who you really are? These are examples of philosophic questions that are raised in children's books such as Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad Together and William Steig's The Real Thief. This class will explore how children's books can be used to teach philosophy to elementary school children. Different techniques for teaching philosophy to children will be canvassed and participants will try them out on each other. The course will culminate in the participants applying what they have learned in actual elementary school classrooms in Northampton, MA.

This seminar is speaking intensive and is a community-based learning course.