Enquiring Minds will be broadcast on Newstalk 106 – 108fm on Sunday 1st September at 7am, and repeated on Saturday 7th September at 9pm

Just as the schools go back for another year, Newstalk 106-108FM broadcasts Enquiring Minds, a new radio documentary which follows a group of ten-year-olds (4th class) from the Central Model Senior School on Gardiner Street in Dublin’s inner city, who are participating in a series of philosophy and contemporary art workshops. The documentary celebrates the capacity of children for critical and independent thought, and their ability to question and explore through the disciplines of contemporary art and philosophy.

Central to the documentary is the children’s responses as they are engaged on a philosophical level.  We listen to their capacity even at a very young age for deep thinking and critical reflection.  Woven through the children’s voices are the reflection of philosophers and teachers on the role philosophy and contemporary art has in our society. We hear about the importance of engaging children in philosophical enquiry in school through the study of philosophy and art. We see how this can teach children to become critical and independent thinkers, empowering them for a future within a rapidly changing world. Together philosophical ideas and contemporary art can open up new ways of connecting and developing the enquiring mind, enriching the child’s capacity for expression and for critical and independent thought.

“We try and find ways of talking about values and ethics philosophically, but also to find ways of connecting with the lives of children and young people so they have these spaces to explore, and understand, and imagine different ways of thinking and existing in the world,” said  Aislinn O’Donnell, Philosopher and Professor of Education at Maynooth University, member of the Centre for Public Education and Pedagogy and founder member and ambassador of Philosophy Ireland.

 “They really have something to offer us in terms of showing us the singularity of who they are, the ways they see the world, what they have witnessed, experienced and the wisdom that comes from that, I think we can underestimate children.” 

Enquiring Minds is also a story of the need to create space and time within a rapidly paced society for engaging with the complexity of concepts and ideas, to question deeply, to imagine divergent views, to explore many answers to the same questions about love, justice, identity, existence, meaning, politics and knowledge.

 “When you engage in philosophy for children it forces you to rethink your understanding of philosophy and rethink your understanding of children. It is not some cute novel thing that is happening, it is people making sense of their experience. And just because they are shorter and have not been around as long should not make a difference”, said  Dr Joe Oyler, lecturer in teacher education in Maynooth University, co-ordinator for the philosophy for children workshops hosted by the Institution of the advancement for philosophy for children.

Katy Fitzpatrick, who works in gallery education with a focus on children and young people’s engagement in contemporary art and co-creator of Art and Philosophy in the classroom said of the philosophy and contemporary art workshops; “To have that space to be able to have those conversations in a safe way, I think for children to have those ranges of experience with different artists and art practices with different galleries, to go into artist studios. To work in different rhythms and methodologies for children is really important”

 Enquiring Minds will be broadcast on Newstalk 106 – 108fm on Sunday 1st September at 7am, and repeated on Saturday 7th September at 9pm

Podcast will be available for download from newstalk.com after the broadcast.

Credits:

Enquiring Minds is a Curious Broadcast production funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the Television License Fee. It was narrated and produced by Patricia Baker, with edit and final mix by Gerry Horan at Contact Studio.

To find out more about The Enquiring Classroom Project, go to:

http://www.enquiring-project.eu/the-enquiring-classroom-training-manual.html

Sound and Vision is a funding scheme for television and radio that provides funding in support of high quality programmes on Irish culture, heritage and experience, and programmes to improve adult literacy. The scheme is managed by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

Curious Broadcast is an arts-based broadcast studio that creates a space for innovation and cultural experimentation across all sectors. Curious Broadcast is based in Inchicore, Dublin 8.