Amidst Civil Turmoil, Founder of The School House Zeros in on Respectful Conversations in Elementary School with Expansion of Socratic Seminar

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Jul 29, 2024, 08:39 ET

The New York-based school increases frequency of its student-led collaborative conversations creating a generation focused on kindness and understanding

NORTHPORT, N.Y., July 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The School House (TSH), a New York-based 501(c)(3) school and proud home of the American Emergent Curriculum (AEC), offering a curriculum based on kindness and mutual respect, is announcing that it is increasing the number of Socratic Seminar classes a week for all student's across first through sixth grade due the civil turbulence of the past month.

The Socratic Method, created by the Greek philosopher Socrates, involves a dialogue between students, driven by questioning. This approach aims to give students the opportunity to create an open dialogue amongst themselves to uncover fundamental beliefs that influence the students' views and opinions.

"The foundation of TSH is built on kindness, integrity and respect starting in the most influential ages of elementary school," said Mimosa Jones Tunney, Founder and President of The School House. "It is our duty as educators to teach our students how to critically think, and to show them that it's normal to have differing opinions. We take our role as educators of the next generation of adults and leaders very seriously, and based on recent events, we all need to do better than where we are today in this country."

How The School House's Socratic Seminar works:

The program begins with the students sitting in a circle so everyone can be face-to-face and engaged. Absolutely no phones or screens are allowed in the room. In fact, no phones and minimal screens are the basis of the American Emergent Curriculum.
Then the educator will bring a topic to the group, give a short explanation about what they will discuss, then hand it over to the group for discussion.
Students "actively listen" when the educator or a fellow student is talking - there is no interrupting or interjecting. The goal is to not only teach patience but to ensure the individuals are really listening to what is being said, instead of preparing a response while listening.
When a student responds, whether they agree or disagree, it is practiced with respect. Students are not asked to raise their hands, but instead recognize social cues and are taught to respond with kindness, regardless of agreeing or disagreeing with the speaker's perspective.
The goal before leaving the group is to get to a place where understanding is reached, and all students know what the next steps on a project are, or where the overall group stands on the topic.

TSH's Socratic Seminars build a moral foundation for the students exactly when humans are developing their character and morality (ages 6-10) and establish critical executive functioning tools which leads to larger use cases in the real world. This program ultimately teaches the next generation how to hear people out and respectfully find a way to move ahead without anger.

To learn more about The School House or the TSH Anywhere program, please visit https://www.theschoolhouse.org/ or https://www.tshanywhere.org/.

About The School House
The School House (TSH) — a thriving brick & mortar school— has a simple mission: to build the best Pre-K - 6th grade school in the world combining what we know scientifically works in learning with what we love about traditional American schools. It is a special school that has shown its ability to successfully solve the current education system's issues through engaging and interconnected learning.

About The American Emergent Curriculum (AEC)
American Emergent Curriculum (AEC) is groundbreaking curriculum leveraging the science of human learning through proven pedagogical research. The curriculum has been implemented through a NY-based brick-and-mortar school called The School House and an online program called, TSH Anywhere, which allows parents and educators to explore several educational options such as starting a homeschool, creating a micro-school, which is an independent learning institution, or building their own brick-and-mortar school.

Media Contact
Taylor Murray
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SOURCE The School House