The Torch
A deep dive into classical education
The Socratic Method: A Curious Case of the Bark in the Nighttime
Over our Spring Break this March, I took a semi-solo retreat at a cabin about two hours north of St. Paul for three nights and four days. I say “semi-solo” since my intrepid Mini Australian Shepherd, Sulo (“charming” in Finnish), joined me on the journey. I booked the retreat in the fall of 2022, knowing that like all of us in education, I would benefit from some time for quiet contemplation, reading, and walking the Soo Line Trail with Sulo once Spring Break arrived.
I had the good fortune to find this lovely place as the site of my retreat, The Shire in the Woods (highly recommend, by the way). The Shire, in addition to its seven cottages, has seven horses, a donkey, and two miniature horses. Sulo, city slicker that he is, was a little wary of these creatures as we passed them on our daytime walks. At night, Sulo was even more nervous since he could hear the horses moving in their paddocks, whinnying and snorting in the dark. We could also hear barking further away than the horses, which I assumed was a dog at the caretakers’ house.
On our last evening at the Shire, Sulo and I were taking a walk around the grounds when I spotted one of the caretakers heading towards us with an animal. The snow drifts were about knee high at the time, so all I could see of this creature was a white and black head. I remember thinking, Ah! There’s that dog we’ve been hearing at night! The caretaker and the animal drew closer and Sulo was the first to realize that it was a giant white goose being walked along like a dog (no leash!) and honking loudly- the same sound as I had assigned to the alleged dog. My brain struggled to fit these pieces together, since a giant pet goose is not something I see everyday.
This long and ridiculous tale of A Curious Case of the Bark in the Nighttime is an example of how our brains receive stimuli (like sounds) and immediately construct explanations of what those sounds mean to us (danger? safety?). I never questioned whether or not the bark we heard could have been a goose. Why would I?
To extend these brain processes to more abstract thinking, consider for a moment how many things you believe to be true without really questioning them, such as, “what is the meaning of the word good?”. According to Mortimer Adler, a champion of the Great Conversation, the Socratic Method of teaching “helps the student bring ideas to birth. It is teaching by asking questions, by leading discussions, by helping students to raise their minds up from a state of understanding or appreciating less to a state of understanding or appreciating more”.
The Socratic Method seeks to get to the core of beliefs through questioning, especially in regards to terms in relationship to our beliefs. To put this into practice, let’s return again to a seminar. If a Nova Classical Academy teacher wanted to conduct a seminar on “the good”, they would start Socratic questioning with terms or concepts the students already knew, such as “What is Plato’s definition of ‘the good’ in this reading?” Once students answer this question, perhaps by consulting their text and giving evidence, the teacher can move into deeper questions in order to more deeply understand and appreciate the concept of “the good”.
Through this skillful questioning, the teacher and students engage in the Great Conversation and add another layer of understanding through questions such as:
How did you come to believe that?
Do you have any evidence to support that?
Does anything in your experience illustrate that?
If we accept what you are saying, what are some implications?
How might someone object to that position?
If you find yourself in a deep conversation with others regarding a concept you strongly believe in, I encourage you to try one of the above questions with an open mind and heart to learn something about the others and yourself. The best seminars with Socratic questions are facilitated by teachers who are open to learning more about the subject by the answers of their students. I am grateful to the goose at the Shire: the experience taught me to continue questioning for greater understanding, because here at Nova Classical, We Learn Not For School But For Life.
Honk Honk,
Dr. Missy Johnson
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As a teacher and student of Latin and Greek, the classical model was a natural choice for me as an educator. I hold the teaching of grammar, logic, rhetoric, and virtues in high regard for learners of all ages and backgrounds. Nova Classical’s community model is inspiring, and I hope to bring thoughtfulness and openness to the Great Conversation.