A chat with Ms. Sahar Soltani

• Interviewee : Sahar Soltani

• Interviewer : Mahmoud Alipour

 ♠Please introduce yourself.

I am Sahar Soltani, an author, journalist, researcher, philosophy for children facilitator, and children’s activist, and a PhD student in philosophy of education. I am the secretary of the philosophy and children desk at the Alefba website and the inspector of the Philosophy of Education Association of Iran. My activities are focused on cultivating fundamental educational concepts with illiterate and semi-literate children (under 8 years old), parents, and educators.

♠What is your opinion about the state of transferring philosophical concepts to children in children’s programs?

If we divide the audio-visual content in the field of children and young people into domestic and foreign productions, indicators can be proposed regarding the transfer of basic concepts and the cultivation of critical, creative, and caring thinking skills. For example: Basic concepts such as: “Me, the other, the world, nature, friendship, fairness, courage, care, beauty, coexistence, difference, similarity, and…” In foreign works, many of these basic concepts are presented within the paradigm of emergence, while Iranian children grow up in the paradigm of creation. Their thinking is origin-bound and goal-oriented, and fundamentally, the addressing of concepts in many foreign works does not have these requirements and is completely the reverse. Various contradictions arise in the formation of children’s concept networks while watching and interpreting foreign animations and films. In domestic works as well, common, repetitive clichés and blatant, slogan-driven presentations have hindered the formation and development of concept networks and their narrative and effective cohesion.

♠What are your solutions and suggestions, and those of your programs, for transferring philosophical concepts to children in children’s programs?

In the first step, domestic programmers and everyone involved in the production, selection, and curation of content for children must undergo various up-to-date courses in logical training and philosophizing. The justification that we have been professional television programmers for years or that we have raised several children ourselves is, unfortunately, a plague whose result is not taking the complexities of working in the children’s field seriously. When the goal is to build cohesive programs for the contemplation of children and the future generation, more than anything else, one must be familiar with the preliminaries of contemplation and its techniques, skills, games, and symbols for working with children. Familiarity with the principles of logical thinking, fallacy recognition, systemic thinking, developmental psychology, critical thinking, creative drama, play, storytelling, narration, poetry and dramatic recitation, and critical and caring literature for children is one of the most important principles of working in the children’s field. Being armed with intellectual skills and familiarity with modern content production tools and techniques are the essential duals of creating native content for educating the child of tomorrow.

♠ Do you know of a successful children’s program that has managed to introduce philosophical concepts to children? Please name it and state its program’s features.

Unfortunately, I do not remember any domestic programs that possess this component. However, I remember old foreign animations up to the present day that have addressed the components of philosophizing and mental exercise for children to understand, analyze, and internalize concepts very well. The Little Travellers animation was brimming with basic concepts. Scrooge, Marco Polo, Huckleberry Finn, Around the World in 80 Days, and other adapted works by Jules Verne. Today, companies like PIXAR produce standard and very good products in the field of conceptualization and philosophizing for children. The most important feature of these animations is presenting concepts based on the lived experiences of children and historical figures. Concepts are presented without the need for slogans or direct delivery, and the child is stimulated to follow the story and can generally ask questions and draw personal yet effective conclusions inspired by the facts presented.

♠ From your perspective, what are the most important ignored principles of designing and producing children’s programs?

That the child is a choosing human being, and play and enjoyment are the most important tools for them to understand the world; with the help of these two tools, they acquire intellectual skills, and answers to questions must be designed based on empirical data and learned logical teachings. Concepts should not be considered like ready-made morsels for the child to digest and assimilate. These morsels will be rejected by children whose power of thought and choice is not recognized. Our mission is to present content alongside training children’s minds for proper choice-making, the ability to analyze, and the joy of thought. Children’s programs should, on the one hand, be a school of concepts, and on the other hand, like a pleasant party, park, and amusement park full of joy and recreation. Reducing any of these aspects in content production is a serious damage and plague.