students to make meaning out of a Habit of Mind, or intelligent behav-
ior. The process begins with one intelligent behavior (for example, lis-
tening with understanding and empathy) written in a bubble. The
teacher then asks students for examples of a child listening with under-
standing and empathy, and of a child not doing so. This request puts the
instruction in context, as children’s names or actual events are used in
both the example and the counter-example. Students then are encour-
aged to come up with attributes of the intelligent behavior, testing each
one against the examples. Students may say listening with understand-
ing and empathy is “nice,” “polite,” “thoughtful,” “respectful,” “cour-
teous,” and so forth. The class then divides into small groups for a
collaborative activity in which each group takes the class-generated
information and comes up with one generalization or definition of the
concept. The process concludes with a presentation of definitions and
a vote for the one that will be displayed in the room. This process is
taught to new teachers for the purpose of transmitting the school’s lan-
guage to all students year after year.
Philosophy for Children
The cultural value and focus of “creating a community of thinkers”
is transmitted from teacher to student through a program called Philoso-
phy for Children. Dr. Thomas Jackson, who heads the program in Hawaii,
and his graduate students work closely with several schools to train teach-
ers in the thinking tools offered in their program.
The program has a language of its own. For example, there are
“magic words,” which serve the purpose of class management. Any stu-
dent can say “POPAAT” to remind everyone, “Please, one person at a
time.” “PSL” stands for “please speak louder,” which students say when
they can’t hear their classmates. The magic words empower students to
help keep the conversation on topic and within accepted boundaries. The
program also includes a “tool kit” to help students with their thinking. It
includes words such as assume, inference, true, reason, example, counter-
example, and the question “What do you mean by that?”
Students sit in a circle with the teacher, pose a philosophical ques-
tion, and attempt to make meaning out of it under structure provided by
The Mindful Culture of Waikiki Elementary School 355