Freshmen Hold Socratic Seminar to Explore "What Makes a Hero?"
Socratic Discussion is a way to share ownership for the responsibility of education with the students. Ms. Everette's freshman Literature students incorporate this effective practice in order to delve into the big ideas of the curriculum.
This week, the students held a discussion about “What makes a hero?” The students' reflections laid the groundwork for a further exploration of Robert Campbell’s classic monomyth structure describing the Hero’s journey in literary works. This discussion centered on Philip Zimbardo’s research into particular characteristics of the “average” hero. The students read his research article, broke into small groups and discussed, and then brought their findings to the “fishbowl”.
One group of students lead the discussion in the center while their classmates observe. Outside observers are assigned one particular person to note positive characteristics and contribution to discussion. Students lead topic exploration about difference between good and evil, how perspective plays a role in judgment of good and evil, what actions count as heroic in our society, and the role of the media in shaping our perception of the heroic.