In an age of seemingly boundless knowledge, how do we empower youth to be critical thinkers of the facts that confront them, to desire truth for its own sake and to think their own thoughts? As the premier classical charter school in Utah, Maeser is dedicated to teaching the Socratic Method to our students. Socrates, from whom we derive the name of this method, believed that critical thinking, combined with the virtues necessary to cultivate a good life, was key to the development of the human person.
Today many students are taught a tremendous amount of material and are encouraged to take a cursory approach to the various subjects in their curriculum. The desire to teach the students how to think and how to engage the questions of life in a meaningful way often is lost. As a result, it is difficult to determine whether the students truly want to acquire wisdom and truth in their lives, or whether they desire merely to be able to articulate an informed opinion on any matter they are called to consider.
Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy embraces this method as essential to our classical liberal arts education. Our teachers model a passion for this approach by teaching a method of inquiry that has been embraced by the Academy’s mission and vision. It is no easy thing to lead our youth in this way. For it requires the teachers to help the students learn what they need to know in order to engage in the Socratic Method. By teaching this method, students learn to question, to discover, to uncover hidden assumptions, to construct arguments and to make their own judgments. They learn about themselves and their place in the community. Most important, in this virtue based education they learn to think for themselves, to listen carefully and to think with intellectual humility.
Maeser, a distinctive charter high school in Utah County, teaches our students to actively participate in the Socratic method of inquiry, specifically, through Socratic Seminars. During these seminars, students read Great Books and primary sources of various subject areas that are discussed in class. Here students engage in a true dialogue. They formulate questions, give their own opinion and respectfully listen to the arguments of others. They are required to think through and analyze what the author means, not merely for a passing grade, but for the very purpose of understanding the truth. These skills teach students critical thinking and develop their characters by teaching them virtue such as humility, intellectual honesty and civility. Every student is known in this small community, where the students learn not just from the teachers, but from each other as well. By participating in these seminars, students develop the character of intellectual confidence. They learn to articulate their own thoughts and to engage with the ideas of others.
Ultimately, the students, faculty, and families at Maeser are involved in learning and cultivating not just the student body but the whole culture of our Academy. In this way we teach our students how to approach life and to live with a virtuous character, and in return the culture of the school teaches us these truths. It is important that we teach our students how to learn, how to live, how to cultivate virtue, and how to be good citizens in a healthy community. We teach students that there is no substitute for a life that thinks for itself, a life that seeks truth, and a life that listens and learns. By teaching the Socratic method, our best education near me helps our students be prepared to enter college, but also be prepared to engage in a conversation about what matters in their lives, and the lives of others. This depth of commitment to the Socratic Method, along with our robust classical curriculum, produces superior results. According to U.S. News & World Report, Maeser Prep is the #1 charter high school in Utah. Our average SAT score is 1330, and we boast a 95% graduation rate. Most importantly, our students are in high demand at colleges because they have the academic chops and grades, but also the skills, critical thinking, and character to stand out to the best colleges. We are not just a prep school for Utah county, but for life.
See what the Inquiry is all about at Maeser!
If you would like an education that challenges, encourages, and prepares your student to be an intellectual and virtuous person, we encourage you to learn more about Karl G. Maeser Prep. Join us in a learning environment where the Socratic Method and Inquiry will help students pursue wisdom, virtue, and become life-long learners! Take a tour of our campus to get a feel for the dynamic intellectual environment we offer our students.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Socratic Method and how is it used at Maeser? The Socratic method is a mode of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions. At Maeser, teachers facilitate Socratic Seminars where the students read and directly interact with the text and each other. Students participate in active learning where they engage with complex texts and ideas using guided questions which enable critical exploration of the material, analysis of arguments, and construction of their own thoughtful perspective.
Is the Socratic method replacing traditional lectures? The Socratic Method is at the core of the Maeser experience but is not the only form of teaching we utilize. While some of your student’s teachers may deliver lectures that may be used to deliver specific content, the Socratic Method is still the primary means of teaching for teachers and for students in terms of their active learning.
How does classical education, particularly the Socratic method, help students be competitive in university? Colleges and universities are looking for students that have strong critical thinking skills. Students who are able to communicate well and engage in complex discourse and argument, as the Socratic Method and classical education encourages them to do, are in great demand by leading universities. Maeser students have an advantage because they have the strong academic foundation they need for college. They are more able to analyze complex texts, formulate arguments, and engage in discourse with others.
Is the Socratic Method suitable for all learners? Because the Socratic Method and our classical curriculum is very interactive, it helps students who are visual, oral, written learners and anyone in between to find engagement, learn, grow, and flourish. Our teachers are skilled facilitators and are able to tailor our instruction to help them grow in their understanding.
How does the Socratic Method help with character development? In order for the Socratic Method to work, certain virtues are required of each of the participants in the discussion or argument. Students are called on to be intellectually humble, patient, respectful, courageous, wise, and truthful in their interaction with their teachers and peers. Because they are practicing these habits throughout their time at school, our students have developed the virtues necessary to become virtuous citizens.