Pardales, Michael J. Interview 15 May 2025
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Description
In this IAPC Oral History Interview, Michael J. Pardales, Ph.D. reflects on his professional trajectory and sustained engagement with Philosophy for Children (P4C). He recounts his initial turn from pre-medicine to philosophy and his subsequent discovery of P4C through undergraduate study at Michigan State University. He describes his graduate experience in the Philosophy for Children program at Montclair State University (1992–1993) and the formative influence of the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC) seminars at Mendham, New Jersey. He offers vivid recollections of Matthew Lipman and Ann Margaret Sharp as educators, highlighting Lipman’s distinctive integration of philosophy, curriculum design, and pedagogy, and Sharp’s passionate commitment to early childhood philosophy. The interview also details Pardales’ early classroom experiences, including student teaching and a challenging year teaching fourth grade in a residential school for emotionally impaired students, where he integrated philosophical activities into the broader curriculum. Pardales reflects critically on the possibilities and limits of implementing philosophy in schools, particularly under conditions of standardized testing and high-stakes accountability, while underscoring the transformative potential of philosophical inquiry for students often marginalized by conventional educational settings.
Publication Date
2026
Document Type
Interview
Publisher
Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children
City
Montclair
Keywords
education, philosophy for children, IAPC, Matthew Lipman, Ann Margaret Sharp
Disciplines
Education | Philosophy
Recommended Citation
Pardales, Michael J. and Gregory, Maughn Rollins, "Pardales, Michael J. Interview 15 May 2025" (2026). All IAPC Oral Histories. 22.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/iapc_oral_histories/22