2. SOCRATES Principles of adult learning The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance The unexamined life is not worth living Socrates engages would be learners in elenctic argument to make them aware of their own ignorance and enable them to discover for themselves the truth the teacher had held back. Nehams, A. (1998) p. 63

3. Historical background  Born 470 BC Son of stonemason and midwife  Lived during Golden Age of Greece  Serves with valour in Peloponnesian War  Married, 8 children  Declared wisest man by Oracle at Delphi  Is put on trial

4. Welcome to ACA: Athens Current Affairs ACA. mp3 TONIGHT SOCRATES THE‘WISEST’CHARGED WITH CORRUPTING OUR YOUTH

5. Socrates on Trial Typical Athenian youth

6. Group Questions 1. What might be a possible questioning path for Socrates if the youth’s situation was complicated by the fact that it was a friend who offered to sell him the chariot? 2. ‘I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.’ Why do you think that this was a basis for Socrates’ teaching methods? 3. ‘The unexamined life is not worth living.’ How do you think this fits into teaching methodology today? 4. What do you believe is the difference between a teacher and a student? 5. What value do you think society places on education and learning?

7. Essence of his teachings  We have just attempted to demonstrate the “Socratic Method” To solve a problem, it would be broken down into a series of questions. The answers to which gradually distil the answer the teacher seeks.  "I know you won't believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others.” Stated Socrates  However most of what we know about him is from his students  focused on the examination of ethics and virtue believed the best way for people to live was to focus on self-development rather than the pursuit of material wealth  said his wisdom was limited to an awareness of his own ignorance:  Socrates was wiser than the wisest because he knew his limits – he knew that he did not know,  while others (politicians, poets, artisans) mistakenly thought they did.

8. Power of dialogue as teaching tool  Socrates puts an enormous amount of faith in the power dialogue  Back and forth linguistic to find truth  Public and communal  A dialogue is perhaps best understood as a focused attempt by a group of speakers to solve a limited number of problems or to answer a few questions.  Importance of engaging listener in dialogue rather than talking at them.

9. Socrates teaching style  Through his method of powerfully questioning his students, he seeks to guide them to discover the subject matter rather than simply telling them what they need to know.  Similar to Pratt’s Developmental perspective by which learners experience a change in the quality of their thinking rather than the quantity.  Students develop new and enhance understanding and cognitive structures to move beyond their original thinking.

10. Virtue  He believed virtue was knowledge;  that no one does wrong willingly, but only out of ignorance; and that  Truth can be discovered through conversation not through mental reasoning which bars retaliation  Through education people become virtue

11. Rational Argument  Socrates emphasized rational argument, concern with one’s soul, and the search for definitions of ethical ideas.  His method of engaging in argument, which often involved an ironic stance towards the claims of his interlocutors, was known as Socratic irony.  He would pretend ignorance as a means of refuting an opponent in a dispute

12. Implications for educational leaders  Socrates implemented a new way of teaching despite opposition.  Leaders shouldn’t let opposition get in the way of change that improves schools  He opposed the status quo and leaders shouldn’t accept the way things are.  Leaders should challenge the way things have been done.

13. Support for Socrates' teaching style  ‘Effective teachers, therefore must be able to build bridges between learners’ present way of thinking and more desirable ways of thinking.’ Daniel D. Pratt ‘Alternative Frames of Understanding’ in Daniel Pratt (ed.) (1998) Five Perspectives on Teaching in Adult and Higher Education Kreiger: Malabar pp. 46- 47  Socratic Circle or seminar is a mainly student guided exploratory intellectual conversation centred on text. Copefield, Matthew (2005) Socratic Circles: Fostering Critical and Creative Thinking in Middle and High School Stenhouse Publishers p.9

14. Socrates’ questioning questioned  Too often, Socrates used his questioning to disparage his students, not necessarily to help them. We must be wary of the sharp edge of this teaching tool.  Socrates developed this elenchus as a “means to examine, refute, or put to shame” and gradually cultivated a school of young Athenians, including Plato, Xenophon, and Aristophanes. Often, his students were left confused and bewildered, not knowing exactly what truth was or what they personally believed.  In time, however, the education his students received enabled the development of some of the world’s greatest philosophy.

15. Major Aaron Tucker USAF  argues that the "Socratic method".... offers a valuable way to help leaders acquire critical thinking useful for influencing and persuading other people.  Training delivers to the student what to think (application), whereas education involves teaching one how to think (analysis, synthesis and evaluate)  If a leader uses the Socratic method too rigidly, submitting only questions rather than opinions or insights, the student or follower may never know exactly what the leader thinks.  Impractical at times. Not a time efficient method of problem solving.

16. Roland Ekinge: Need to manage change  encourage Dialogues, ask Socratic Questions which help discover paradigms and orthodoxy's and produces extraordinary thinking which leads to extraordinary action which produce extraordinary results  · think the unthinkable and leave the ”business as usual” state and create a new reality  · master Critical Rationalism  · treat fellow associates with Respect  · endorse problems and drive Change  · create a Socratic Culture and create alignment in the organization to generate ownership and actions  We should realise  If we continue to value/think/do what we have always we will continue to get what we have always got  Think outside square

17. Socratic Leadership within schools  The principal/ leader must facilitate change.  must prevent others from within the school from being blocked by the past.  S/he must help them to unlock their intrinsic creativity and ability to think “out-of-the-box”  Principal must manage equally well change of the organization and change of themselves.  S/he must change faster than ever.  So the principal must also understand themselves and how s/he changes and what prevents change.

18. References Copeland, Matt (2005) Socratic Circles Stenhouse Ekinge, Roland Socratic Leadership and Three- Dimensional Change in www.itn.liu.se/~benle/NySum/IECM2001Ekinge.pdf www.itn.liu.se/~benle/NySum/IECM2001Ekinge.pdf Nehams, A. (1998) The Art of Living. Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Pratt, Daniel D. ‘Alternative Frames of Understanding’ in Daniel Pratt (ed.) (1998) Five Perspectives on Teaching in Adult and Higher Education Kreiger: Malabar Reed, R and Johnson, T (2000)Philosophical Documents in Education Addison-Wesley Longman