Socratic Seminar Reflection

The Socratic Seminars proved to be a fun, interesting way to talk about "big ideas" in Brave New World. As we discussed we came to a conclusion that "there is no way for a utopia to exist because it cannot be perfect for everyone." I have really been thinking about this over the past weeks. Every person, no matter how hard any government tries, is different. With so many people to please, there is no way that everyone can be completely happy all of the time. This logic solidifies for me the use of soma in the book. The government cannot make everyone happy naturally, so they found a drug to do that chemically. By researching for my Seminars, I found that Huxley tied Shakespearean tales into his book. John the Savage can be related to many of Shakespeare's characters. Also, while talking about fads, (iPods in particular) one group concluded that even though they may be a fad, iPods bolster individuality because they allow users to listen to their own taste of music. From now on, I can imagine that I will be seeing the individual appear even in the following of trends.

By participating in the Seminar, I took two roles: I participated in the discussions and I also had to evaluate someone else in his or her discussion. Being in the discussion felt almost unnerving; I imagined myself as a fish in a bowl with everyone else looking in. Soon into the discussion, however, I was usually too into talking and listening to remember my surroundings. Evaluating my classmates gave me an opportunity to hear new ideas and watch how people interact with one another.

Overall, I felt I did pretty well. Sometimes I had trouble getting all of my researched thoughts in before I got distracted and moved on to another idea. I often had five or ten new ideas running through my head as another person was talking, so I had to push those out of the way to really listen to them. I generally like the seminar, but there was one point when the discussion turned into a flat-out debate. That was a little uncomfortable; many people seemed to walk away with their feelings hurt.

The Socratic Seminar was thought by Socrates to be one of the highest forms of learning. By participating in a civilized discussion, one not only collects his or her own ideas, but he or she also hears what others have to say. I am certain Socrates would be proud of the discussions we mere teenagers were able to have.