The three foci for discussion on the first day have to do with the role of philosophy, and especially American philosophy, in U. S. culture. The first of these involves the invisibility of philosophy in American culture and how it is we each came to find philosophy in light of this invisibility. One of my favorite answers to this question comes from a former student at Texas A & M, who, with a friend, landed in a philosophy course that was listed in the catalogue as INTELLHIST. Thinking the course had to do with the history of the CIA (that is, History of Intelligence) and the like, the two signed on only to find out that the course was a philosophically-oriented course in intellectual history. The second focus for discussion will be the essentiality of teaching to American philosophy. We will explore two avenues of approach. First, we should recognize that most folks whom we include in the canon of "American philosophy" were teachers and were interested in philosophy of education. These would include Emerson, Peabody, Thoreau, Harris, Davidson, Addams, James, Dewey, and Langer among others. Second, we need to explore the significance of the fact that we are teachers every bit as much as we are philosophers. The final focus for discussion will center on the question of what we, as teachers and philosophers, have to offer our culture. My own take, following John McDermott, is that we are effective as "humanizers," and that this work is not narrowly instrumental. However, there are a variety of roles philosophers might take, and I will plan to close with an open discussion concerning these roles.