The Giving Tree

Future Directions/ Lessons Learned

I would like to connect Big Ideas for Little Kids: Teaching Philosophy through
Picture Books to digital storytelling in my classroom. Since there are nine picture
books under the discussions of philosophy in the Big Ideas for Little Kids: Teaching
Philosophy through Childrens Literature and six in its documentary, I would like to
take The Giving Tree as an example. Wartenberg in textbook mentions that there is a
metaphor of a child-mother relation to a boy-tree relation, and in the documentary he
also says that some feminists criticize that tree as a female gives all herself to the boy,
but then he uses The Giving Tree as a tool to induce the discussions on environmental
philosophy (Akeret, 2014). In this education practice I also use The Giving Tree,
focusing on environmental philosophy, with several activities on how children share
their philosophical thinking through digital storytelling.
There are some approaches to induce children to the discussions on environmental
philosophy from The Giving Tree. First we read the picture book The Giving Tree or
watch the video of it online. We can ask children questions such as: What is the theme
of The Giving Tree? How do you interpret the tale? Then we can ask children if we
can just simply focus on the boy-tree relation: Do they have any idea to employ this
relation to human-nature relation? As what Wartenberg has provided in the textbook,
there are three stages that cause different effects on the tree: respect, destruction, less
invasion (Wartenberg, 2014, p. 109-15). Children can explain what the boy has
behaved in these three stages and whether they agree his behavior or not, and if they
were him: What and how would they ask for the tree?
Then teachers take students from the classroom to the closest park around the
school, taking photos of trees to discover the real human-tree relation. Teachers first
check out ten to twenty cameras or iPhone from the elementary school. Then teachers
take students to the closest park nearby. And then teachers ask students to take photos
of different kinds of trees, based on the three stages in The Giving Tree: respect,
destruction, less invasion. After the excursion, students display the scenes that they
have seen, show their photos to all classmates, and then make an imaginary story
related to human-tree relation. The teachers help students to put those photos into
iMovie or Moviemaker. Finally, students share their story of human-tree relation with

three phase (respect, destruction, less invasion) through digital storytelling.

Through Big Ideas for Little Kids: Teaching Philosophy through Picture Books, I
see that the significance of education is to prepare children/adolescents versatile
abilities. Philosophy this old discipline can be applied in our daily life in the new
generation. In addition, I hope that children/adolescents can also use technology this
new field to understand self and otherness, which is one of the most important skills
for survival. Media composition projects offer this same type of practical real-world
activity that promotes sustains intellectual curiosity, collaboration, social
responsibility (Hobbs & Moore, 2013, p. 90). I would recommend teachers and
parents be well-prepared in teaching children philosophy and digital storytelling,
because children are talented in interrogating. If children ask tough questions,
teachers and parents can delay their answer until the following day or week. For me, it
is not necessary to be afraid of teaching philosophy and digital storytelling, for The
only use of a knowledge of the past is to equip us for the present (Hobbs & Moore,
2013, p. 90). After all, to listen, to challenge, and to revise are the core in Big Ideas
for Little Kids: Teaching Philosophy through Picture Books, and also the theme of
education.

References:
Gee, J. P. (2004). Chapter 3: Language and Identity at Home. Situated Language and
Learning: A critique of traditional schooling. New York: Routledge.
Lambert, J. (2013). Digital storytelling: capturing lives, creating community. New
York: Routledge.
Ohler, J. (2013). Digital storytelling in the classroom: New media pathways to
literacy, learning, and creativity. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Pahl, K. & Rowsell, J. (2010). Artifacts, talk and listening. Artifactual literacies:
Every object tells a story. New York: Teachers College Press.
WGBY. (2014). Big Ideas for Little Kids: Teaching Philosophy through Picture

Books. Retrieved November 9, 2014, from

http://video.wgby.org/video/2365360694/
Urban, C. (2014). Mount Holyoke College 'Philosophy for Children' class to be
featured on WGBY/57. Retrieved November 9, 2014, from
http://www.masslive.com/living/index.ssf/2014/10/mount_holyoke_college_philosop
hy_for_children_class_to_be_featured_on_public_television.html