Monday, September 6, 2010
Reflection of the Wonderful Socratic Circle
When I first heard about the socratic circle I was a little nervous about not knowing what to say or that it would be awkward and no one would talk, but I was pretty impressed with the way our group discussed it. There were no huge disagreements, everyone was respectful to each other and their opinion, and everyone seemed very open-minded to different views on the topic. When I first read the article, I thought, well that was dumb, they should just leave things the way they are and that was it. Once we started talking about it in the circle I began thinking more about it and gaining different insight. Some of the things people brought up really made me think. What if the things that we have been learning isn't actually true? Is America portrayed differently because the way history was written? All these things made me think, well maybe it isn't that big of a deal to change some things in the book. However, I found that it was not right that just because some parents didn't like the way some things were written or displayed they want to completely cut some people out of history. I don't think that it is fair or right that they change history books so drastically. The idea of books being biased also really made me think. Is it possible for a book to be un-biased? If it is, can't people still take it as being biased? Or have an opinion that's different from others. As hard as it may be, I think history books should be as factual and unbiased as possible. That way, it gives everyone a fair chance of learning and understanding it. However, I think that what you learn also depends on the teacher and how they teach it. This socratic circle really made me think about a lot of different issues presented in the discussion.
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I definitely relate when you said you just read the article and thought the idea was pretty ridiculous and the answer is a no-brainer. I didn't think very many things would be said on the articles, at least not as much as what was discussed in the circle. But some of the things caught me off guard and, like you said, really got me thinking in a different direction. Maybe everything in the history books that we have learned isn't all true and the books could have been written that way simply to make America look better than it is. I also think that it is unfair that the history books are being changed. It is pretty ridiculous that just because some parents don't personally like the content being taught in the book, they are wanting to cut some things out of history. It's the history of our country, there's nothing you can do about that. I also agree with you how you think that the books should be as unbiased as possible. That way, the students learning the information aren't being swayed to one direction. They would be getting all of the information possible about that subject for their own analyzing.
ReplyDeleteOk first of all, i didn't participate in the Socratic circle, so bear with me, but i think you really understand the whole meaning of one. It really allows you to start thinking about things you have never thought about before. You also brought up a great point saying even if we made a so-called "unbaised" history book, there is probably always going to be a bias based on the writers of the book, unless everyone in the world wrote the book too, then maybe we could call it unbiased. (but then what about the Martians?!? hah) Anyways great thoughts here, hopefully i'll be able to participate in the next circle. Have a great day!
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