The Invisible School

Publications Section : xxProfessional Journal

The Seminar Circle 0.1 xxxxNovember 1996

The Seminar Circle 0.2 xxxSeptember 1997

The Seminar Circle 0.3 xxxxxxxxxMay 1998

THE SEMINAR CIRCLE

A Journal of Reflection on Our Common Practice

Volume 0, Number 2 : September 1997

Highlights of this edition

A New Training Format

Monthly Seminar Group

Meditation Class for Educators

A "Great Books" Seminar Class

An Open Call for Contributions

The Seminar Box

A Year of Trainings

In Our Next Issue

Quote from Sri Aurobindo

Meeting for 2 - 1/2 hours, one night a week for twelve weeks; with the possible option of 3 CEU's through San Francisco State. We hope this new training format will be more convenient and attractive for all of your colleagues who require seminar training.

You may expect to hear of this new format being offered at several different locations during the coming year.

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A small group of seminar facilitators has begun meeting once a month in the Bay Area. We gather on a Sunday afternoon to share a pot luck meal, enjoy a seminar, and reflect upon our recent experiences leading seminars.

This is a wonderful way to continue to develop our common practice. If you live in the Bay Area and would like to join us, the next gathering is October 5. Call for location and text.

In addition, Socratic Seminars West would like to support the establishment of similar groups -- wherever there are enough trained facilitators to do so. (Orange county? San Diego? Elsewhere?)

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The life of a school teacher can be stressful, even under the best of circumstances. Add to it the task of wrestling the crotchety old dragon of public education through a millenial change, and you may feel a bit tired from time to time.

Meditation can help. This class will offer a variety of tools to cultivate new habits of mind: techniques to energize the body, balance the emotions, clarify the mind, and feed the spirit.

The class will meet for nine weeks on Sunday nights (I think). A set of free orientation evenings will offer you the experience to decide if this might benefit you.

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Late last spring Tara Klasna (Aliso Niguel HS) and Christina Garrity (Capistrano Valley HS) received school board approval to offer a new elective class in their district. Entitled "Philosophy Seminar", the work will focus on Socratic seminars, using texts primarily from the Great Books and Touchstones series.

There are two sections enrolled this fall at Capo Valley; Christina will teach one and Sue Willett the other. Aliso Niguel was a little shy of the minimum enrollment for fall, but Tara expects to fill a class for the spring semester.

These students will acquire the understanding and the skills to serve as peer facilitators in other classrooms. We watch this process with hushed anticipation, as we believe this class (and others like it) will prove to be a key to making Socratic seminars an integral part of the life of a school. [What about a Philosophy Club that meets after school?]

Stay tuned for reports as they come in. [Are any of you journalling, ladies?]

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In the coming months, we will begin more actively soliciting articles for publication. Anyone who is regularly leading seminars (classroom, faculty, parents, or other) has valuable wisdom to share with those who are just beginning, or hesitant to "take the plunge".

This publication will either fail or succeed on the basis of the quality and diversity of voices heard here. We all understand that it is not a seminar circle if the same few persons are doing all the talking, right?

The following persons are among those doing exciting work with seminars, and may expect a phone call (unless an article appears in our hands between now and then): Jerry, Sheila, Christina, Sue, Ed, Greg, Carylon, Peter, Susan, Chaz, and anyone else I've neglected.

Let's say 750 to 1,000 words. Or in other words, the equivalent of one night's homework in one class. Just turn off the tube, pop it out, and turn it in !

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There is team at Stanford working on a study of BASRC (The Hewlett-Annenberg Challenge). In order to broaden the wealth of perspectives from each of the "case study schools" they have put a "Stanford box" in various classrooms.

This contains a disposable camera, so that anyone can capture an exciting event as it happens. It also provides an easy drop-off for any sort of student work or faculty notes which document or reflect upon the restructuring process.

We, as a widespread community, might do well to emulate this practice. Try it in your room. Drop in any artifacts which help document the implementation of seminars in your class: student responses, journal entries, comments in critique, your own notes. Original or xerox copy.

The time will soon come when we will want to get grant funding for school-wide seminar programs, for a district seminar coach, etc. At that time this may prove to be a most valuable resource, especially with a broad geographic sampling.

Set up a Seminar Box in your room today.

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During the past year Socratic Seminars West has trained groups of educators at the following locations:

International Professional School of Bodywork (San Diego) - three groups

Aliso Niguel HS (Orange Co.)

Capistrano Valley HS (Orange Co.)

Irvington HS (Bay Area)

Fremont HS (Bay Area)

Freedom HS (Bay Area)

Liberty HS (Bay Area)

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We hope that our next issue will be thicker -- with a new, classier presentation -- and containing more of your writing. We also hope for world peace, and that all of your students will do their assignments.

But only time will tell.

For now, we leave you with the following quote of Sri Aurobindo:

"The capital period of my intellectual development was when I could see clearly that what the intellect said might be correct and not correct, that what the intellect justified was true and its opposite also was true. I never admitted a truth in the mind without simultaneously keeping it open to the contrary of it . . . . And the first result was that the prestige of the intellect was gone!"

(Evening Talks, p.199)