Philosophy for kids offered at U.K. school

LONDON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Playground scrapes at an East London schoolyard are giving way to intellectual jousting thanks to the introduction of grade school philosophy classes.

Kids at Gallions Primary have had access to elective philosophy instruction for the past six years, and administrators told the Daily Mail it has paid off in the form of more mature behavior.

Some teachers told the newspaper that disputes often are settled with debate rather than the students getting physical. It has also sparked some fairly intellectual explorations.

"I have witnessed children who barely spoke English and children who had very little self-confidence debating fervently whether the sound of rain on the window was or wasn't music," marveled teacher Lisa Naylor.

The philosophy instructional materials are now available on DVD.