...Over the course the year, Mr. Allen’s English classes has been consistent of monthly Socratic seminars, discussing various topics. Either relating to the material of the books we discuss in class or a topic that is present in our society, students slowly discuss major points, details, and any confusion during the seminar. I believe I relatively participate an efficient amount of times during these seminars, as I always try to express my ideas or questions when given the right time. Regarding the Socratic seminar that was held on January 15, students were given a video entitled, “American Masters: Edward Norton's Analysis of "The Catcher in the Rye" | Salinger | PBS”, and two articles, “Everyone has problems, don't they?”, written by editors...
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...Socratic Seminar Reflection Before the seminar, I liked the text The Scariest Thing I Know. I liked it since the text was descriptive and interesting to read, I also thought that there was a lot of hidden metaphor in the story which was interesting to decipher. My thoughts immediately after reading the text were that Kid Death was really a metaphor for Nick who had always hid behind a mask to appear frightening and cool but once you “took off his mask.” He was just another Geek like Kid Death. I also thought that the Angel must also be a metaphor for something, and I realized that it was a metaphor for the angel that had saved Nick. I thought that Kid Death and the Angel bundled together represented what we perceive as the “Devil and Angel on our shoulders.” The Devil is Kid Death and the angel being the angel. This showed nicks inner battle to either remain behind a mask and be cool like Kid Death and make Bad things happen. Or be good like the angel and not be so cool but still be good, in the end he chose the path of the Angel and this changed his life since he started being good and not always acting tough since he knew what happens if he does. Before the seminar, I had a pretty clear idea of what the subject of the story was. I remembered the general area of the subject of the story was to constantly travel the good path in life. In the scene near the end of the text where Nick was “frozen in time” and was looking at the angel saving his brother. He could choose...
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...would use his arguing technique to prove that. He would start by asking a straightforward question, and then it would grow into a heated debate. I like this quality about him because it shows that he his strong willed and determined and he doesn’t care what people think of him. One of Socrates qualities that I admire most is the fact that he didn’t look like your typical philosopher. He was short and ugly and only possessed life’s necessities. This shows that he didn’t want people to look at him for his possessions or looks; he just wanted people to notice his teachings. Socrates inspires me to be determined and to look deeper into questions. I think that Socratic Seminars will be a great learning tool for our class. A Socratic Seminar is an organized debate that allows everyone to voice their opinions without intense conflict. I think that this will be good for our class because I like to hear what other classmates think about passages, and stories that we read in class. I think that this will be good because we will be able to form new opinions based on our classmate’s thoughts and feedback. These Seminars are also good because there really isn’t “right” answer, so we can get into deep discussions without worrying about what we say is right or wrong. For example, our values essay that we have been writing feature things that we value in our lives. Some things...
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...Socratic seminars are a learning tool to help not only students but professionals and their work habits and learning styles. The 3 key points to a well rounded socratic seminar are speaking, listening, and ideas, but what takes an incomplete idea and transforms it into an above average seminar? Speaking is one of the most important keys in keeping a good conversation going, also making a slower conversation moving to keep your audience engaged. An exemplary socratic seminar would include contributing to the discussion with ideas and references, unlike an incomplete debate which would show no evidence, knowledge or interest of the topic. To get an above average grade communication and being able to add information to any added idea is crucial....
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...Fences Socratic Seminar Questions Directions: Answer the questions below in preparation for the Socratic seminar on Fences. You must respond in complete sentences, and you must submit your answers to Schoology. Your written responses will be part of your Socratic seminar grade. Make sure your responses are specific. Provide specific quotes and page numbers to support your responses. 1. People are made up of both good and bad character traits, just as characters from literature are. No one person or character is 100% good or 100% bad. Troy was a complicated character. Argue whether or not you believe Troy was a good man or not. 2. What are some examples of cultural, political, and social fences from history and today? What messages do these fences convey? Are these fences good, bad, or a mixture of both? 3. How can fences be invisible? Provide at least one example of an invisible fence you put up in your own life. 4. How do you think the primary characters’ respective childhood environments affect their personalities? Do you think it was fate or choice that had the most effect on them? Why? 5. Names hold a symbolic meaning in the play. What symbolic meaning do you think the characters below hold? One example has been done for you. a. Cory- Cory is the youthful center of the family, like the core of an apple. b. Rose- c. Gabe- d. Troy- 6. What do you think the play is saying about the themes below...
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...Review your Socratic Seminar Prep on turnitin.com. What sorts of comments did you receive? I received comments about my grammar, tone, weak transition, and vague analyses. My tone wasn’t correct because I used personal pronouns in my analysis sometimes. My weak transition in the first paragraph didn’t support my main point because it didn’t make any connections, and it was vague. My analyses were vague because when I connected something to real life I didn’t give specific examples which made my analyses and points come across weaker. What could you do to improve your writing? I could have one of my parents or a friend read my essay before I turn it in to make sure that it makes as much sense to them as it does to me. To fix my grammar mistakes I could proofread better and/or use an app or website like Grammarly to check my english. What were you able to contribute to the seminar? Did you contribute mostly commentary and analysis, or did you ask questions?...
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...Chapter 5 Socratic) are met. O Day 1 Topical question: W: Overarching Understanding/Question: It is important to see beyond yourself in order to understand others. / Why is cultural perspective important? Big Idea: Culture Standards: SCCR E2.I.1.1: Use a recursive process to develop, refine, and evaluate questions to broaden thinking on a specific idea that directs inquiry for new learning and deeper understanding. SCCR E2.I.3.2: Examine historical, social, cultural, or political context to broaden inquiry and create questions. SCCR E2.RL.5.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text; identify multiple supported interpretations. SCCR E2.RL. 7.1 Trace the development of a common theme across media, modality, and format. SCCR E2.RL. 7.2 Explain how literary texts and related media allude to themes and archetypes from historical and cultural traditions. Major...
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...Leo and lets not forget the Socratic Seminar with the class. I think it's worse to never try in many thinks like in life. First , Equality 7-2521 in Anthem By Ayn Rand never gave up in what he discover. An example of this is planning to escape from the council to show them the light he discover in the tunnel. This is when Equality 7-2521 discover a light that no one has ever done or disobey orders from the council and following the light. This connects to my life by always disobeying everyone why because is something I always do I like doing many things on my own and in my own way not their way. Next Emancipation proclamation , by Abraham Lincoln. In the Emancipation Proclamation Abraham he wanted to free all of the slaves so that they can have freedom as the americans do. A quote of the Emancipation would be “ I order and and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated states , and parts of states , are...
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...The novel, Anthem, by Ayn Rand tells about a man whom individualism and freedom are taken away. In the novel, the sacred word, Ego, and the word “I” were used to express individualism. During the Socratic Seminar, my class and I discussed the significant meanings behind the words and its connection toward the transgressor. The transgressor was punished because he had spoken the scared word which was viewed by the society as a curse. We discussed that it was a public display to the society to demonstrate the consequences of breaking the law. We also discussed how Equality 7-2521 noticed that the transgressor was almost happy and relieved. The usages of the word ego and I express individualism. My specific thoughts were that Equality 7-2521...
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...Who am I really? The texts we looked at are Anthem by Ayn Rand, “Emancipation Proclamation,” by Abraham Lincoln, Prometheus from Greek Mythology,”Critical Thinking Video by Leo, and a Socratic Seminar. I am a person who is needy and self-absorbed but also very equivalent. First, Equality is also very equivalent. For example, Rand states,“ We are nothing. Mankind is all…’’ This connects to my life because everyone should be equal there should not ever be a person who is as an individual. Equality’s world, everyone is told that the only reason for an individual to live is to serve his "fellow brothers." Everyone is equal to everyone else, which means that each person has to be the same as everyone else. Society is rigidly controlled to ensure that nobody has the opportunity to stand out as an individual, or even think of himself as one....
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...others feel as though it is not a skill that can be taught. In this paper I will discuss what critical thinking is and ways it can be taught in an educational setting. Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in Schools For many years critical thinking has been an important issue in education. Following the 1948 Convention of the American Psychological Association, Benjamin Bloom, an American educational psychologist, took control over the development of the goals of the educational process. The goals of the educational process included knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Ever since, the debate over critical thinking has been a hot one (Schneider, 2002). What is critical thinking? Well throughout the past decade the definition of critical thinking has somewhat changed and there are numerous definitions to define it. According to Paul Chance, “critical thinking is the ability to analyze facts, generate and organize ideas, defend opinions, make comparisons, draw inferences, evaluate arguments and solve problems” (Chance, 1986). According to Tama Carrol critical thinking is, “a way of reasoning that demands adequate support for one’s beliefs and an unwillingness to be persuaded unless support is forthcoming” (Carrol, 1989). Even though the definition will probably continue to change and there will be many different views on what it means, one thing that will not change, is the need to find effective solutions to complex...
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...the body at homeostasis. These concepts are covered in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) High School Life Science (HS-LS) 1-1 A: Systems of specialized cells within organisms help them perform the essential functions of life and multicellular organisms have a hierarchal structural organization, in which any one system is made up of numerous parts and is itself a component of the next level. This is also covered in HS-LS 1-3.A: Feedback mechanisms maintain a living system’s internal conditions within certain limits and mediate behaviors, allowing it to remain alive and function even as externa conditions change within some range. Feedback mechanisms can encourage (through positive feedback) or discourage (negative feedback) what is on inside the living system. There are several learning targets for students in this unit: 1-identify and describe the functions of each organelle, 2-identify and describe the functions of the cell membrane, 3- describe how substances move across the cell membrane, 4: explain how the kidney uses cell transport 5- to plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of how energy drinks affect the fluid balance within cells, and 6- to describe positive and negative feedback mechanisms for maintaining homeostasis. Homeostasis, the ability of the body to maintain stable internal conditions, is an essential theme in Biology. If the balance of the homeostasis is disrupted from the level of the cell to an entire organ system, organisms...
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...Which is worse, failing or never trying? In Anthem by Ayn Rand, The “Emancipation Proclamation” by Abraham Lincoln , Prometheus from Greek Mythology, Critical thinking audio by Leo and a socratic seminar is the text that I will get my examples and information from. My opinion was that it’s worse to never try rather than fail because when you never try your filled with curiosity and regret, you can gain experience from your failures to help you and sometimes it will better your future or the people around you. At first, in Anthem, Liberty is born into a city where his rights are revoked. Basic human rights such as a name, being able to see your parents, or even picking your career choice was never a luxury for them. Liberty was born different though, he has felt it ever since he was little. He was more curious about things, he fought with the other kids and he was very smart. However, this was all considered evil nature in that city....
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...greek mythology, “Critical Thinking video” by Leo and our Socratic Seminar. What do you want most in life? but not just the people in these texts have trouble asking themselves this. Many teenegers now struggle with this too. They have to decide whether they want to do something or not and most of the time this affects their entire life. I also struggle with answering this and getting what I want most in my life. What i want most in my life is freedom and acceptance. First, In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand Equality wanted freedom. He wanted the freedom to be himself and to learn. He also wanted to be accepted by his “brothers”. In the book equality struggled to fit in. He always hid who he was so he wouldn’t get in trouble. For example he was so different that he was even taller than everyone else “ There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521, for your body has grown beyond the bodies of your brothers” (Anthem pg.18). But equality is not the only one. I can relate to this because I've also struggled with acceptance from my family and i still do....
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...At the top is a ruling class, which oversees the rest of the society. Below the ruling class are usually skilled artisans and warriors. At the bottom of the social structure are service people as who are responsible for all manual labor in the city. They may include low-level artisans, farmers, and slaves. In each civilization, they all believed in social classes. As we discussed in our Socratic Seminar, the idea of one being greater than another has been an issues all throughout time. What makes a person see themselves as better than someone else? Even our president, Donald Trump, believes he’s “of higher class” because he is wealthy. One idea I had that I did not get to mention in the socratic seminar is that I consider everyone to be considered equal. Whether they are white ,black, gay or straight, or even of different culture as me...
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