As I keep pointing out (and for abundantly good reason), philosophy for children is far and away the biggest no-brainer of all time. Right now people are fighting over crumbs compared to what's at stake here. Given the nature of philosophical activity, properly conceived - as love of wisdom and therefore organized (and therefore better) living - there is perhaps no human problem that can't be solved by more philosophy. (It gets even better with Aristotelian philosophy, which may be the best kind of philosophical activity around. If you haven't yet thought in terms of 'Ultimate living through ultimate philosophy,' then you have some catching up to do.)
The thoroughly-researched Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP) entry on Philosophy for Children has an almost fresh copyright date (2018), so it's not like this article has been sitting around for a long time not being noticed on its merits. What the 2018 copyright date does say is that it took about that amount of time for a philosopher to do the necessary integration of research materials out there and consolidate the essential findings all in one place, with a compelling narrative tying it all together.
(I've had the time/resources only to go through McCarty's Little Big Minds, within the past several months or so. Just on its own it makes a compelling case for philosophy for kids, but it has a 2006 copyright date. What has happened in the intervening 13 years? Someone with the time, interest and expertise had to come along and organize all the available research. YouTube will provide leads to Jana Mohr Lone and others (edit: see also Lone's blog), but won't provide you the comprehensive set of leads available at the SEP entry.)
So we're into the second year after the SEP entry's publication, and at least one philosopher has taken up the task of blogging about it vigorously. I have just taken the next step of contacting the author of the SEP entry by email to inquire about how best this no-brainer idea can be spread ASAFP. The author probably has a good network of contacts in this area, and if a network of contacts includes philosophers, a potential intellectual juggernaut is in the making. By its very nature any opposition to philosophy for children is intellectually impotent, easily overwhelmed given enough time and dedication among the philosophers, the most advanced-level integrators in the humanities.
The question: why didn't I think of contacting the author before today? Well, this is the nature of incomplete and imperfect knowledge, and limitations on time and mental resources. Were I smarter than I am (I am merely a fanatical lover/pursuer of wisdom), this may well have happened sooner. The better (Aristotelian) policy of mental integration being applied, the sooner such discoveries can be made and exploited for maximum benefit.
And, so, if you're reading this, what measures might you take to help spread the message of philosophy for children? Perhaps contact the author of the SEP entry as I have and express your support. Provide the SEP link with a good money-quote (this linked one quoting the author that most anyone with philosophical curiosity themselves can teach this subject; and most anyone can have philosophical curiosity) on social media when good opportunities arise, making sure to mention how authoritative the SEP is. Those are a couple ideas that occur to me so far. (Do I have to do all this myself? Or will the end of history simply have to be a collaborative effort? But of course it will....)
When a philosopher-friend on facebook linked to this article (by Rod Dreher at The American Conservative almost despairing over the seductive appeal of "alt-right" views to alienated young white men seeking meaning (and we're not talking the benign and philosophical Jordan Peterson-type guidance, but, well, identity-politics for white males), the thought occurred to me: "Gee, wouldn't it be nice if this or the next generation of young males are taught to think philosophically before this all becomes a problem...." Seeing as I can't fathom a remotely plausible comeback to this, there probably isn't one.
Is there any social problem that wouldn't be optimally addressed by philosophy for kids? Just now I see on the news the latest story about cop-killing dirtbags. Put the kids on philosophy and they won't end up being cop-killing dirtbags.
Given that this topic is of the highest priority for a wisdom-lover, I will continue to pursue this vigorously however I can. Providing top-notch blog postings as evidence for the benefits philosophy can bring will continue to be a part of this process. But others with sincere concern about the future of humanity will have to do their part, as well.
I am currently discussing a bet on facebook with Bryan Caplan (Econ, GMU), winner of 14 bets in a row and counting, as to how soon philosophy for children can/will be part of the regular education curriculum nationwide (if not worldwide...). If you follow the logic of this through, at some point there will be a checkmate situation against any opposition to philosophy for children. (Just the very publicizing of the bet/idea can only affect the very circumstances being betted on, in the direction of philosophy-for-children sooner than later. Think this through, and the only end-result is checkmate, pretty soon. Just what the endgame will look like, I do not know yet, but it should be pretty awesome.) I am willing to bet with long odds. Given my own context of knowledge, it's a no-brainer.
Like Sciabarra did his homework in his own area of expertise, I did my homework well enough to notice the McCarty book in a library (who uses those anymore?) and to notice and promote the SEP entry so relatively soon after its publication, as no other philosophy blog or social-media platform is doing (yet). (I found the SEP entry by googling "philosophy for children" after finding only so much material on youtube and not being satisfied with that.)
The rest of this blog's entries, and my book, should be a good indicator of how well and thoroughly I do my homework. Philosophy for children will get them doing their homework really darn well, also.
Why delay?
[Addendum: Why does American politics kinda suck right now? Well, a huge part of it has to do with our elected 'leaders' being so philosophically illiterate when contrasted with all of the key Framers. Think of whatever social problem we have and it probably, likely, or definitely has to do with not enough philosophy going around.]
[Addendum #2: Imagine a scenario: the teachers get a 5% bump in pay/funding if they teach philosophy for kids according to the best available researched protocols, and additional bumps as results come in. Why wouldn't they go for it?]
