4Real Forums: Socratic discussiong group/Touchstones?

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Topic: Socratic discussiong group/Touchstones?

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jdostalik
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Joined: Feb 15 2005
Location: Texas
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Posts: 2935

Posted: July 30 2005 at 8:22pm \| IP Logged

Has anyone heard of the Touchstones program?

Any words of wisdom on Socratic discussion in general? What is the minimum age when it would be most beneficial?

A local homeschool group is considering starting a group using Touchstones and I was wondering if it might be something I want to consider now or in the future for my 10 y.o. precocious reader...

Any comments welcome as I know NOTHING about this...

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Jennifer in TX
wife to Bill, mom to six here on earth and eight in heaven.
Let the Little Ones Come

stefoodie
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Joined: Feb 17 2005
Location: Ohio
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Posts: 8457

Posted: Aug 01 2005 at 1:27pm \| IP Logged

hi, Jennifer, we enrolled aisa (now 14) in Angelicum's socratic discussion program 4 years ago -- she did it for a year, then we just continued using the program since we had the books after that year. i don't think it's THAT different from what CMers already do, i.e., discussion with our kids about what they read/listen to/watch, digging deeper, asking questions, following rabbit trails, thinking about what we learn from a book/passage and how do we apply it in our lives, thinking about the moral issues in a story, etc. what's interesting in the guidelines is that we are told there are no wrong or right answers in Socratic discussions. the goal is to get the child to think critically, to consider different facets of an issue, etc. while OT1H i agree with that, i also believe that the discussions that we have with our children are the most important times when we can listen to, and if needed, guide, their thinking about life, God, etc.... so i wouldn't trade our personal discussion with anything offered elsewhere.

what was special about Angelicum's program was it was conducted by a "discussion facilitator/moderator", and they did it online using a client called PalTalk. they had a "private room" for the teacher and the students and they did that once a week. the kids had their microphones and speakers on and that's how they had the discussion, like conference calls. i see it as good practice for when our kids get to college, so they get a bit of experience on how classroom interaction works, but in no way does it replace the discussions that we should have with our kids and what Julie Bogart refers to as "full engagement".

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stef

mom to five

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