Waverley teachers traded places with students in 7.1 on Monday as the boys led intellectual discussion, grounded by scientific research, on the question, “Climate Change is the single greatest challenge humans and the environment face.” Mr Sposari worked with the boys to create the Socratic Seminar opportunity due to the class interest in the topic, and their passion to fuse research with rigorous debate.
The boys’ initial presentations to the class were well designed and thoughtful, however, the magic of a socratic seminar is in each student’s ability to listen to each argument and construct a critical response to challenge or affirm a student’s point of view.
Each student’s argument was grounded in research that revealed a significant amount of effort to both engage and provoke the audience to consider new ideas. Of particular note was Luca Green who presented an image of Waverley College under water as a result of rising sea levels, shifting the discussion from abstract environmental considerations to a very real image of our College’s future.
Finley Carr was awarded the Seminar medal for being the most persuasive and confident as a result of his careful consideration of constructing an argument, whilst also demonstrating a thoughtful approach to challenging the perspectives of his peers. A special mention to James Kriska who shows promise as a brilliant debater.
The Socratic Seminar was highly successful in engaging the boys in rigorous and thought-provoking debate, as well as, fine tuning their ability to listen actively and respond carefully. Overall, the boys demonstrated a solid understanding of the environmental issues we face locally, as well as globally, and they should be congratulated on their ability to pursue and express insightful ideas underpinned by carefully considered research.
Ms Helen Barrie
Head of Academic Enrichment
hbarrie@waverley.nsw.edu.au
and
Mr Nicholas Sposari
Teacher of HSIE and Religion
nsposari@waverley.nsw.edu.au
