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Daley
STARS in community service with CAPS
By Sarah Duffy
On-line Forty-Niner
Cal State Long
Beach graduate philosophy student Russ Daley says that by
having a passion and a purpose to life, things at times seem
to just come easily to him.
One of things that came easily to Daley was winning the "Students
That Are Recognized for Service" award. Daley won the
award, along with 20 other students from across the California
State University system, for serving their communities. CSU
Chancellor Charles B. Reed created the STARS program three
years ago.
Daley was recognized for his work to help build a team of
students and educators for the Center for Advancement of Philosophy
in Schools. The program's aim is to bring philosophy into
K-12 classrooms as a way to promote critical thinking and
enhance students' academic performance.
The CAPS program does this by pairing middle school and high
school teachers with CSULB students trained in philosophy
to lead weekly philosophical discussions with younger students.
Daley says he doesn't feel like he's doing service work. Children
are natural philosophers, he said.
"I'm just doing what matters to me," said Daley,
who now serves as the project director of CAPS.
Educator Debbie Whittaker has 16 years of elementary and high
school teaching experience and sits on the CAPS advisory board,
along with other key supporters of the program, including
Long Beach Unified School District Superintendent Carl Cohn
and CSULB Dean of Liberal Arts, Dorothy Abrahamse.
Whittaker said she is amazed at Daley's business skills, in
terms of researching, planning and implementing the CAPS program,
but also because he seems to know what needs to be done to
make education meaningful to children.
"I think [Daley] realized that kids naturally ask philosophical
questions, and I think that a lot of people don't realize
that," said Whittaker.
"They are naturally curious, and they want answers to
these questions, and school wasn't providing that for them,"
said Whittaker, who also teaches philosophy at CSULB and Long
Beach City College. "Basically that whole world is shut
off to students, and yet those students are dying to discuss
those things."
Daley also wrote a successful grant for the creation of a
summer philosophy institute for 75 at-risk youths. Often teachers
and administrators think that a program like CAPS is for gifted
kids, but actually the program works effectively with underachieving
students as well, Daley said.
Through the program, students improve their level of esteem
about themselves as learners, said Daley.
"Students who maybe weren't doing so well before, now
they're like 'Oh, I have something to say. I have something
to contribute. Other students are watching me. They're listening
to what I have to say,'" Daily said. "So they get
this conception of themselves as a learner, as a good student,
and it encourages them to go on and do more things."
Students with at least six units of philosophy and instructor
approval may take CAPS training. The training is normally
taught through independent study led by Sara Goering, director
of the Center of Applied Ethics at CSULB's philosophy department.
For the first time, the philosophy department will offer CAPS
training this fall as a capstone course, which can be counted
toward general education requirements.
Goering, who nominated Daley for the STARS award, lectures
on practical ethics, ethical theory and feminist theory.
"He has devoted so much time and energy to making our
philosophy in the schools project work," Goering said.
"One of the things we hear a lot from teachers that are
working with us is that they haven't heard their students
come alive the way they do when they talk about philosophy
issues."
The questions and discussions are gripping, Goering said.
"It's just because they are these enduring human questions
that we all bump up against at some point, and to have the
place to talk about them, to hear what your peers think, and
to think critically about your own view, really is a pretty
rewarding experience," Goering said.
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