10학년인 아들의 학교는 커리큘럼이 좀 달라 올해 세계사를 배웁니다. Back to school night에 가보니 선생님이 나이 지긋하신 분이신데 만만치 않아 보였습니다. 가르치시는 방법도 평범하진 않으신지 아들이 매일 새롭답니다. 이 글도 너의 학교 이야기를 써보자 했더니 세계사시간의 수업방식을 적네요. 이른바 ‘소크라테스식 세미나’라는데 교실 책상이 일단 원탁형입니다. 한 책상에 5~6명이 앉을 수 있는데 주제가 주어지면 서로 대화를 하는데 원칙이 있답니다. 어떤 상황에서도 상대방을 존중할 것, 다시 말해 누군가가 말할 때 중간에 끊지 말 것이며 만약 반대하고 싶으면 타당한 이유를 대야만 한다는 것입니다. 만약 이 룰을 깰 때는 경고 없이 토론에서 빠져야 한답니다.

이 날 주어진 주제는 무인도에 그 교실의 모든 학생이 있다고 할 때 민주정치와 귀족정치 중 어느 것이 나을지를 토론하는 것이었답니다. 아이들은 본인들의 의사를 나름대로 이유를 대며 밝혔고 그 상황에서의 갈등과 조정, 권리에 관해 이야기했답니다. 30분쯤 지난 후 선생님이 아이들에게 토론에 대한 느낌을 물었고 대다수 아이들이 만족감을 표했답니다. 그 이유가 내 의견에 대해 존중 받았고 타인의 의견에도 이성적인 태도였음을 경험했다는 것입니다. 

아들은 이 날 수업이 감명 깊었는지 본인이 경험한 미국 교육의 장점이 이런 게 아닐까 합니다. 가만 보면 미국 애들치고 말 못하는 애들이 없습니다. 다 Public speaker로서의 가능성이 엿보이고 가만히 있는 애들은 별로 없습니다. 나서기를 좋아하지 않고 말도 못하는 우리 아들이 이런 수업을 받다 보면 좀 나아질까요? 본인 스스로 느끼고 변화하길 바랄 뿐입니다.


The Socratic Seminar
 My name is Junwon Lee, and I’m a high school sophomore in LA, California. I came to the United States four years ago, and luckily I can still speak Korean! I have decided to write about unique experiences in my high school to inform education system in the United States schools.

I entered my history class last month without even thinking about what we were going to do in class. I just sat down, took out my stuff, and just stared at the wall like a deer in the headlights. The other students came into the class, and a few minutes later the classroom was filled with 36 students and a teacher (I was still daydreaming about nothing in particular).

The class started at 10: 15 A.M. Wearing the UCLA shirt and khaki pants (as always), the teacher stood from the chair, and the first thing he ordered us to do was to create a circle using the classroom chairs. We all stood up, placed all the tables toward the center of the classroom, and surrounded the tables with our chairs. After we sat, our teacher explained to us our assignment: the Socratic seminar.

In a Socratic seminar, all people participating in the seminar were allowed to talk about anything related to the given topic. The students had to respect others in any circumstances: all students were allowed to talk after the other student finished giving his or her opinions, despite the length of his or her speech. If a student had to negate one’s opinion, he or she must provide a legitimate reason explaining the error. Whoever broke the rules above had to leave the discussion without a warning.
As soon as the instructions were given, the topic of the seminar was given: “If all the students in the classroom were on a deserted island, which government system would be enforced: democracy or aristocracy?” The students immediately expressed their opinions one by one. Some students believed that democracy would be enforced because without democracy, people would fail to achieve unity among people, which could eventually lead to anarchy and catastrophe.  On the other hand, the others believed that aristocracy should be introduced first, for the supreme figures could regulate policies that could limit rebellions. No one humiliated others’ opinions during the discussion. There were some refutations involved in the discussion. Students who believed in democracy stated that an aristocracy could provoke more conflict among people, while those who believed in an aristocracy argued that a perfect democracy could not be achieved without organizing people, and in order to organize people, an aristocracy must be introduced. (I believed in an aristocracy because I knew that it takes a lot of wisdom to achieve a perfect democracy, such as giving everyone equal rights.)

After 30 minutes, the teacher stopped the discussion and asked us about our feelings of the seminar. The majority of the students were highly satisfied, mostly because no one was rude to each other. I enjoyed the Socratic seminar because I was able to express my opinion without anyone unreasonably interfering me. The seminar enabled students to be mature and supported them in conveying their opinions with confidence. The Socratic seminar is so far probably one of the best methods of discussions that I have ever experienced in the United States.

In conclusion, the United States often utilizes open discussions to encourage students to become a public speaker, rather than a wallflower, because in the United States, public speaking skills are prerequisites for all jobs. No matter how intelligent or talented a student is, lack of public speaking skills could significantly limit the opportunities that he or she could experience. I believe that the Socratic seminar could be an asset in Korean high schools.

이상은 | 결혼한 지 17년차이며 서울에서 LA로 이사온 지 5년째인 전업주부이자 10학년 아들과 7학년 딸을 둔 평범한 아줌마.