Educational deontology in the community of philosophical inquiry

This paper aims at offering a pedagogical perspective as part of the debate on philosophical practice with children, referring particularly to issues of educational deontology that emerging “uncomfortable” questions occur. Many of the questions that arise during philosophy sessions—and sometimes individually, at the end of the session and “out of the community borders”)--are left unanswered, being perceived as uncomfortable. Our reflection is on what educational deontology requires in order to deal with the challenge that these kinds of questions bring. Starting from the concept of deontology proposed by the educationalist Mariagrazia Contini and embracing Jana Mohr Lone’s idea of children’s comfort with uncertainty, the paper offers a discussion on what we mean by educational responsibility when undertaking the task of facilitating a community of philosophical inquiry with children. The paper concludes that the facilitator should be present, attentive, and capable of good listening. She/he should be a model, an example for the community: available to listen and answer back, respectful, sensitive, capable of mind shifts, and humble. Moreover, a facilitator should be trained in a reflexive thinking: she/he needs to be well aware of her/his own cognitive schemes, the premises of her/his knowledge, and the social and cultural paradigms she/he refers to. All this “intangibile background” needs to be made explicit in order to be aware of the frames that shape each educational action.