Creating Your Ideal School (and Channeling a little bit o' Socrates)

Today, we chipped deeper into the iceberg!

Way down!

Cracking the dense ice!

Whoa, man, ice chips are flying everywhere!

Another way of saying the above is: we read "Plato's Allegory of the Cave" (which which really spoken by Socrates) and tried to grapple with what Socrates says life is all about.

Here is a link to the reading that we performed aloud and acted out in class today. 

Then, we segued into our IDEAL SCHOOL project, in which each of us will have to decide what core values and ideas matter most when creating and designed a school.

Here is the link to the overview of the IDEAL SCHOOL project. 

Tomorrow and Thursday, we will meet in the library to workshop and create our schools, and we'll continue discussing Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and "Plato's Allegory of the Cave" as we do so.

Our word of the day today is PERFIDIOUS, which means deceitful, as in this example, "The villain was perfidious when he told me that he was only trying to find the secret to my super power."

Our word of the day from yesterday was IMBUE, which is a verb that means to fill completely.

See you tomorrow, and peace!

Mr. R

Your Ideal School!

What do a research experiment cone in February of this year and an allegory composed in 450 BC have in common? The short answer is: a lot! Today, we crafted a compare and contrast chart on our board to analyze the similarities and differences between Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" (which, we know really entailed a story from Socrates!) and some recent research on what makes a meaningful life.

I loved hearing your ideas!

We then pushed forward and began thinking about our IDEAL SCHOOL project. For this project, you are in charge! Let your wildest imaginings come to fruition! Think outside of what we are used to, and consider what kind of school you would create if anything were possible.

How would the days run? Who would lead? How would decisions be made? Would subjects be taught together? Would students teach one another? Would classes be bigger or smaller? Would "school" be a forest or a museum or an ongoing field trip?

As you brainstorm and plan your ideas tonight, be thinking about connections to the "Allegory of the Cave" and also to our novel, Nothing but the Truth.

Here is the link to the IDEAL SCHOOL project in case you need another copy, or in case you want to print out a copy on which to draw a thousand hearts and laminate it and then frame it and then put it right next to your bathroom mirror. 

Our word of the day today is ADVOCATE (verb) which means to support a person or a cause. And our word of the day from yesterday was ALLEGORY (noun) which means a story that illustrates an important life message or symbolizes a greater truth.