SoCal Philosophy Academy – Corrupting the Youth since 2017
Brian J. Collins is Associate Professor & Chair of Philosophy at California Lutheran University and is the Founder & Director of the SoCal Philosophy Academy
To explain the SoCal Philosophy Academy and my motivations for pursuing its development, it is important to first explain my own introduction to philosophy. I did not have the good fortune to be introduced to philosophy in elementary, middle, or high school; my first formal exposure didn’t happen until college. I have always been intellectually curious and interested in exploring why things are the way they are, but this was not always rewarded in my traditional K12 education. I slowly became disillusioned with the educational system.
When I started college at St. Olaf’s, a small, private, liberal arts school, I enrolled in a philosophy class as part of the gen ed curriculum. I immediately fell in love with the course and the discipline because it not only allowed students to question and push back against the assigned material – it was expected. This was a revelation to me as a disillusioned 18-year-old and I immediately added philosophy as a second major. At that point I didn’t believe the courses or degree would be practical or useful; I pursued it simply because I enjoyed it, and I figured I would worry about the practicalities of work and career later.
As graduation approached, I still didn’t know what I wanted to do so I accepted an offer from Teach for America to teach middle school math and science for a few years. The following three years were transformative. I realized that I loved teaching – not that I could foresee myself teaching forever. I simply loved the process of planning and facilitating the intellectual development of my students. I also realized that I could attribute my successes as teacher to the skills, habits, intellectual virtues, and methods I had developed during my philosophy courses. I wasn’t using the content that I had studied, but rather employing the curiosity, analytical skills, problem solving, and communication skills I had developed through philosophy. This realization – that philosophy was one of the most useful things I had studied – made me wish that I had been introduced to it much earlier in my education. I also realized that I wanted to make sure other students had even more exposure to philosophy than I did. After two years of applying to graduate philosophy programs, I was offered a spot in the PhD program at the University of Iowa.
During my time there, I was extremely fortunate to have advisors (Richard Fumerton, Diane Jeske, David Cunning, Ali Hasan, and many others) and institutional support (specifically the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies) assisting and encouraging my interests in precollege and public facing philosophy. I also had the good fortune to find myself surrounded by fellow graduate students who were interested in precollege and public philosophy as well!
While I was developing a synchronous online Intro to Philosophy course for high school students, my friends Kristopher G. Phillips & Greg Stoutenburg were developing a summer program (the Iowa Lyceum) for precollege students. The opportunity to teach philosophy to high school students and to observe and volunteer in the first years of the Iowa Lyceum reinforced my passion and commitment to precollege philosophy. I received my PhD in 2014 and was offered a job at California Lutheran University in 2015. The university and Philosophy Department were especially excited about my interest in developing precollege and public philosophy programs in Southern California — it figured significantly in why I was offered the position. I ecstatically accepted the offer and my family and I moved to Thousand Oaks, CA (halfway between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, CA) in 2015. After taking a year to get my bearings, the SoCal Philosophy Academy was born in 2017.
The mission of the SoCal Philosophy Academy is to promote the practice of philosophy (dialogue and critical thinking) through precollege philosophy instruction and public engagement in philosophy. Our first big endeavor, the first annual Summer Philosophy Institute, began in June of 2017. It is generously supported by PLATO, California Lutheran University, and others. During the weeklong institute the students are introduced to, and/or expand upon their familiarity with, the field of philosophy, and study select perennial and contemporary philosophical issues and questions. Through the process of engaging in the practice of philosophy – wrestling with and discussing thought experiments, scenarios, and stories – students are introduced to philosophical analysis, argumentation, and critical evaluation. This is the precollege half of the Academy’s mission. We pursue the “public engagement” half of our mission by offering public lectures, leading workshops, and our newest program – Theology & Philosophy on TAP – which facilitates monthly public discussions around the Thousand Oaks community.
A significant component of college preparedness is access to courses that promote and teach the high-level abstract critical reasoning; however, these opportunities are not available to all, contributing to educational inequalities. Our hope is to continue all our precollege and public philosophy events and programs while also expanding our offerings to include opportunities for elementary and middle school students, starting a High School Ethics Bowl Team, and partnering with other universities and local organizations (e.g., the Berggruen Institute) to broaden our reach in the SoCal community. Please see our website and social media accounts for pictures of the institute, student testimonials, upcoming events, and information on how to support precollege philosophy!
If you are interested in starting your own precollege or public philosophy program, organizing a workshop, hosting a lecture, or would simply like to connect, please don’t hesitate to reach out: briancollins@callutheran.edu.
