Author and philosopher Marietta McCarty is passionate about challenging young minds to think big. In this guest post with KidsThinkAboutIt.com, she shares her inspiration, her experiences, and her successes with child philosophers.  

Although you’ve taught philosophy to college students for a number of years, your first experience with kid thinkers happened somewhere outside of the classroom. Tell us about that.

My first experience was as a “kid thinker!” Wonder, questions, and conversation filled my days. Playing tournament tennis from a young age taught me volumes about human behavior—my own and others. At seventeen I began teaching tennis to children, eventually directing a summer tennis camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I relished the questions and insights of the children—natural philosophers regardless of subject matter. They kept my sense of wonder and seeking alive. So when I began teaching college students and felt a responsibility to bring “the art of clear thinking” to our larger community, my immediate move was to follow the yellow school buses. Sitting in circles with child philosophers changed my life. Read more.