Stephanie Burdick-Shepherd's work in applied philosophy of education is grounded in the belief that philosophical inquiry is something essential to human living, regardless of age or circumstance. As Plato tells us through Socrates, “the unexamined life is not worth living”. Questions such as “What is the good thing to do?” or “How do we know what the truth is?” are not simple questions to answer but they are meant to be asked by all of us, not just scholars in ivory university towers. It is the philosopher’s job to expose how the ordinary, such experiences as walking through a park with a friend, or the way a child makes forts in the snow, become experiences that inspire wonder and cause us to examine our life carefully. At Lawrence, she is grateful to be able to ask these kinds of questions all the time, in such courses as Ethical Dilemmas in Education, Philosophy of Childhood, Why Read Children’s Books? Her work in supervising the elementary education teacher candidates supports teachers to bring these questions to the world of k-12 schooling in the courses Elementary Methods, Foundations of Literacy in a Diverse Society, and the Student Teaching Seminar. She is inspired by the students and local teachers she works with who challenge each other to ask difficult questions about the seemingly ordinary experiences of teaching and learning, in order to make the world more just, kind, and beautiful.
