It’s that time again.
The desks are in a circle in the center of the room.
A sheet of questions sits in front of you.
The names of each group are projected on the screen.
The timer is on, and… how many times do I have to talk for an A?

Socratic seminars, named after the Greek philosopher Socrates, are structured class discussions where students engage in open-ended conversations about a certain topic. These are often used in Language Arts classes to analyze books.

Supporters of these discussions believe they foster critical thinking and encourage meaningful conversations. By creating an engaging and student-led environment, students can share different perspectives and interpretations of the same text.

The intentions are good. However, like many things, Socratics can backfire tremendously.
For many students, even those passionate about literature, Socratic Seminars are more of a burden than a book club.

“It’s hard to try and listen to someone make their point and then try to figure out how to be the first person to speak when they finish,” says Alexa McClain, who dreads Socratic Seminars.

The unrelenting question of when, where, and how to jump in can be a nightmare for those with anxiety about public speaking. In most cases, your grade depends on how many times you talk. This can take the learning out of Socratics, as everyone is focused on getting their own points. This defeats the whole purpose of a class discussion. Unsurprisingly, more talkative students usually dominate the conversation. But how much are they really contributing? Although many talkative students have insightful things to say, some merely repeat the same ideas over and over.

“It’s the same as grading an essay based on the number of sentences it has,” remarks Katie Puryear, who feels cheated by the grading methods used for socractic seminars.

While I appreciate that teachers are trying to make class more interesting, Socratics are definitely a hit or miss when it comes to classroom activities.

The biggest issue (in my opinion) is knowing when the “appropriate” time is to speak.

One way to fix this could be that instead of having a free-for-all conversation, classes could go around the circle, and each person could build off what the last person said. If the topic has already been hit on multiple times, they could also decide to move onto the next question. This would ensure that everyone has a chance to speak while maintaining a natural conversation flow.

 Socratic Seminars can be a useful tool if we rethink the way we structure them. These discussions should be a source of enjoyment, not stress.