Strohecker, Margaret Interview 30 October 2025
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Description
In this IAPC Oral History Interview, Margaret Strohecker reflects on her formative role in the early development and implementation of Philosophy for Children (P4C) in the United States. She recounts her introduction to P4C as an undergraduate philosophy student, her participation in the inaugural Master of Arts in Teaching program at Montclair State College in the early 1980s, and her experiences studying with Matthew Lipman, Ann Sharp, and other central figures of the IAPC. She offers detailed recollections of the IAPC seminars at Mendham, New Jersey, the structure and challenges of the early MAT program, and the communal intellectual culture fostered by Lipman and Sharp. Strohecker also discusses her subsequent work implementing P4C in public schools, particularly in Lynbrook, New York, addressing issues of teacher resistance, large-scale curricular implementation, assessment, and media attention. Through vivid anecdotes—especially classroom moments that reveal children’s emerging self-reflection—she articulates the pedagogical and ethical significance of philosophical inquiry with children. The interview further explores tensions between P4C and academic philosophy, questions of implementation across diverse educational contexts, and Strohecker’s later work in science education and homeschooling.
Publication Date
2026
Document Type
Interview
Publisher
Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children
City
Montclair
Keywords
Ann Margaret Sharp, community of inquiry, curriculum, education, Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC), Matthew Lipman, philosophy for children (P4C)
Disciplines
Education | Philosophy
Recommended Citation
Strohecker, Margaret and Gregory, Maughn Rollins, "Strohecker, Margaret Interview 30 October 2025" (2026). All IAPC Oral Histories. 13.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/iapc_oral_histories/13