Too Comfortable, Or Just Right

It was me and Colby’s first week back to Mrs.T’s class this discussion with them was one I am not going to forget. Not only was Colby new to the class but there was also a new student(Irene) who knew absolutely nothing about p4c. In my mind I had an idea that this student would just sit back and relax and not participate, but I was wrong. The question that we had a plain vanilla on was “Would you rather stay young or grow up?”

I never thought that her hand would be the first to go up but I was so curious what her answer was because this was her first time having a plain vanilla, so of course I passed the community to her first. Irene’s response was “ I would want to grow up so I can experience life…” The message I got from the students was that they would want to feel young and also have the freedom that comes with being an adult. After hearing their responses, I asked “Why do we feel like we need more time?

Jaden said, “...we cannot escape death” and another student said, “ dying isn’t bad because since I’m Catholic, I know that I will be with God when I die.” Our inquiry was getting really deep and I liked where we were heading. It was pretty amazing seeing how everyone was answering the question from different point of views; they connected their answers to songs, religion, personal experiences, and so on. Unfortunately, the discussion couldn’t go on any further because of the short amount of time we had, but I am glad that we put that time to good use.

I guess I am left here astonished with this new student feeling so free to share what she had to say. Maybe it was because I reminded the class about our rules or maybe it is because she felt welcomed. My first experience of doing p4c was very different because I just sat there and listened and overtime I felt comfortable to share, but this was different.Overall, this was a great first visit back to the fifth grade class at Maunawili and I am very pleased to see how much they have grown and haven’t lost the momentum from last semester. I can’t wait to see how their responses will improve over time.
-Cindy