Critical Thinking with the Classics

Mr. Joe Janke’s American Literature classes recently participated in an educational activity inspired by the methods of the ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates. In their Socratic Circles they used high level questioning and answering skills to discuss and analyze their assigned reading. These interactive learning experiences encourage students to practice critical thinking as well as require them to share real-life applications that can be learned from the literature they read. When walking past his classroom during this activity one can hear that classic literature can still come to life and be relevant in the hands of our modern students!