Soilsiú Films & The Philosophy Foundation have developed an Educational Resource pack for Young Plato as a tool educators and facilitators can use when presenting the film in a classroom/workshop or community screening situation. The Young Plato Resource Pack gives you a way to discuss important questions and bring them to the young people you know. By asking and thinking and responding to these questions you can facilitate better thinking about challenging issues in young people’s own lives and society as a whole.
There are six big questions here, and each question has two enquiries that tackle separate elements of the question. There are further free downloadable sessions as well as a list of further enquiries that can be found in other publications.
We will be adding further film clip resources in the coming weeks, so keep checking back!
We have also brought some additional resources together below.
Supporting Philosophy Resources for Young Plato
- Teachers Follow the same path as Kevin and his team at Holy Cross Boys
- Philosophers Become an philosophy facititator or take a look at our articles & research
- Work with groups of children already? Find lessons and guidance in our publications
- A young person interested in philosophy? Join an online class
- An interested adult? Try an online course
- Join our site as a member for free games, lesson plans videos
- Free resources in the downloadable PDF:
A World Without - On making a better world.
Bikes and certainty - The session from the film
Billy Bash - On violence and self-control
Lost! - On losing things
The Volcano - On differences
Young Plato
Young Plato is an observational documentary is set in post-conflict Belfast's Ardoyne, where a marginalized working-class community has for generations been plagued by poverty, drugs and guns. The film charts the dream of Headmaster Kevin McArevey and his dedicated, visionary team illustrating how critical thinking and pastoral care can empower and encourage children to see beyond the boundaries and limitations of their own community. We see how philosophy can encourage them to question the mythologies of war and of violence, and sometimes challenge the narratives their parents, peers, and socio-economic group would dictate.
The Philosophy Foundation started working with Holy Cross Boys' Primary School in Belfast in 2014 and as a partner school we have had the privilege to work closely with Kevin and the staff at Holy Cross Boys' since then.
We are now working with Soilsiu Films to develop resources that can be used alongside this film, including lesson plans and strategies for doing philosophy with children that address issues of emotional literacy and critical thinking.
Subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated about this resource and more, join our website for further resources for doing philosophy with nursery, primary and secondary school-aged children and for more information on our training for schools, philosophers, or those interested in facilitating philosophical enquiry visit our training pages.
