Ms. Susan Benedetto’s Honors English II and English III classes participated in Socratic Seminars as they analyze and discuss Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Socratic Seminars are led by the students who are given topics on characters, conflicts, and, in this scenario, African proverbs by which students provide evidence from the text to support critical reading.
Students in the “inner circle” confer with the “outer circle” before conversing with small groups and in turn exchange places to ultimately provide everyone in the class with a voice and opportunity for discussion.
Sophomore William Goodwin offers, “Socratic Seminars express the individual’s perspective on the topic, rather than having one idea that everyone agrees on. It shows teachers how the students interpret ideas after discussion.”
The class collaborated and went through each discussion question with a critical thinking perspective. Ms. Bendetto’s English classes moved their desks to a circular formation to increase the discussion atmosphere.
“In a Socratic Seminar activity, students help one another understand the ideas, issues, and values reflected in a text through a group discussion. This allows students to help one another and understand the text more clearly,” described Sophomore Carson Scott.
