As the historical figure who was imprisoned and executed for his ideas or as the character we know as in Plato’s many dialogues, Socrates is a pillar of the classical tradition. Join Professor Jon Balsbaugh for a discussion of Socrates as a learner, teacher, and guide “out of the cave.” The course will include the reading and discussion of original texts as well as presentations on the application of Socrates’ life and teachings to the classroom—what has come to be known as “the Socratic method.”

In the early 1980s, educational philosopher Mortimer Adler published a trilogy of books proposing a reform of educational practice in the United States: The Paideia Proposal (1982), Paideia Problems and Possibilities (1983), and The Paideia Program (1984). One of the most important outcomes of Adler’s efforts was a method of teaching that relied upon three pillars: didactic instruction, coaching, and seminar. Professor Jon Balsbaugh will lead this course on how to use the pillars of instruction in the classroom. The course will include reading and presentations on the practical application of the material to the contemporary classroom setting and a wide range of subjects.

Separated by almost twenty-five hundred years, Socrates and Mortimer Adler are nonetheless participants in the same great conversation of what it means to know, to learn, and to become a truly “educated” person. This course will begin with a study of Socrates as teacher, learner and guide (with attention to developing a true “Socratic Method”); and it will continue with a practical application of Mortimer Adler’s three pillars of instruction to the classroom environment.