Jana Mohr Lone

Reality Scavenger Hunt

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Yesterday in an online philosophy session, the children and I played a game created by my colleague David Shapiro, the “Reality Scavenger Hunt.” This has been a popular philosophy prompt for years, and since the pandemic began, I have been adapting the game for virtual settings. First, I divide the children up into groups of 3-5 … Reality Scavenger Hunt

What is memory?

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In a discussion yesterday with a group of eight- and nine-year-old children, we talked about what is most important for our identities; in other words, what could we not lose without ceasing to be ourselves? During the conversation, we began talking about the role of memory in making us the people we are. One child … What is memory?

Is “everything” real?

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  In a couple of final 2020 Zoom classes with a group of fifth grade students, we played a version of the “Reality Scavenger Hunt,” a game my colleague David Shapiro created. In small groups, the students come up with examples that fit into these five categories: 1.     Something that isn’t real but seems to be … Is “everything” real?

Gratitude

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As this is Thanksgiving week in the US, I have been thinking about gratitude. Especially in difficult times like the current moment, in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, it can be helpful to remember all of the things for which we have to be thankful. In a philosophy discussion I was leading not too … Gratitude

Snack Attack

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The video “Snack Attack” portrays (without words) an elderly woman inside a train station, who buys a packet of cookies at a vending machine, putting them in her purse. She then heads outside to sit on a bench and wait for her train, sitting next to a teenage boy. Picking up the packet of cookies … Snack Attack

Listening

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Since my previous post about the role of the facilitator in philosophy sessions, I have been thinking more about listening and specifically the roles of listening and of silence in discussions. This is the subject of the last chapter of my new book, which will be out this spring.  Almost by definition, listening requires attentiveness … Listening

The Quiet Facilitator

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This autumn, as I have begun leading philosophy sessions on Zoom with children again, I have spent some time considering more deeply my role in these sessions. Part of my job as an educator is to help children learn to articulate and examine their questions and beliefs more lucidly. Additionally, though, I am responsible for helping … The Quiet Facilitator

Thinking about Death

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I have been thinking about death since I was about 5 years old. For much of my life, I’ve had the sense that other people don’t think about the subject very much, or at least try not to think about it, and certainly don’t often want to talk about it, at least not in the … Thinking about Death

In Limbo

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  In Limbo I recently had a video conversation with In Limbo, a new online space dedicated to exploring the philosophical dimensions of the pandemic. The video is here. The site began as a result of an effort to create a bibliography that records various philosophical writings on the pandemic, which can be found here. … In Limbo

Loneliness and Isolation

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During the pandemic, the topics of loneliness and isolation came up in many of the Zoom conversations I had with children.  The six-minute film “Baboon on the Moon” is about a baboon who lives alone on the Moon. Wordless and moving, the video portrays the baboon as full of longing for the Earth, struggling with feelings … Loneliness and Isolation