We work with students and teachers in our public schools to help create a more thoughtful, compassionate, and ethical educational experience. Currently there are three p4c Hawai‘i “model schools” and many individual teachers committed to integrating the activity of philosophy into their classrooms. Our dream is to cultivate a K-12 philosophical schooling experience that encourages students to think collaboratively about meaningful topics and questions.

The Uehiro Academy for Philosophy and Ethics in Education produces and supports the development of curriculum related to a p4c Hawai‘i approach to education. Students and teachers in traditional K-12 school settings, higher education, and other innovative educational programs and initiatives use the p4c Hawai’i curriculum designed by the Uehiro Academy. Curriculum development at the Uehiro Academy is a collaborative process. University of Hawai‘i faculty work with teachers and students to brainstorm, implement and reflect on new ways of incorporating community, inquiry, philosophy, and reflection into a wide array of subject areas and diverse community contexts.

One example of a current Uehiro Academy curriculum development project is Philosophical Inquiry. Philosophical Inquiry is a new social studies course being piloted in the Hawai‘i State Department of Education (HI DOE) at Kailua High School (KHS). This curriculum provides students with opportunities to develop the skills and processes necessary for achieving 21st century student outcomes (as outlined in the P21 Framework, 2009), such as:

• Complex problem solving, critical thinking, good judgment, reasoning, inter-personal communication, personal reflection, group facilitation, note-taking, and writing skills

• Ethical relationship building, and dispositions necessary for thinking responsibly as a member of a reflective community of inquiry

• Interdisciplinary methods for conducting research

• Thinking philosophically about historical, economic, geographic, and political science content, issues and concepts

• Engaging student wonderment in the learning process and connecting thinking across content areas and other areas of life

• Developing the habits of mind needed for meaningful and purposeful engagement in their current and future schoolwork and life