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← A Seminar at Home

A Seminar at Home

Three short lessons on running a real discussion of a good text at a dinner table: one open question, everyone points to the text, and roles that keep any one voice from taking over.

Spark & Whetstone · sparkwhetstone.org/learn/a-seminar-at-home · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Answers are at the end, so you can try each question first.

Lesson 1. One open question

In 1982 the philosopher Mortimer Adler proposed that every school should teach in three ways: lectures, coaching, and the seminar — a discussion of ideas in a good text, led by questions.

A seminar starts with one open question: a question the leader really wonders about, with more than one reasonable answer. "Was the fox right to trick the crow?" works. "What colour was the fox?" does not.

Question. Which is an open question for a seminar on a short story?

  1. How many pages is the story?
  2. Was the narrator fair to her brother?
  3. What is the main character's name?

Say it back. In your own words: what makes a question open?

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Lesson 2. Point to the text

The rule that makes a seminar different from an argument is simple: when you say something, show where in the text you got it. "On page two she says…"

This keeps the discussion fair. The youngest person at the table has the same text as the oldest, so a good point can come from anyone.

Question. What makes a seminar point fair?

  1. The person making it is the oldest.
  2. It points to a line in the text.
  3. It is said with confidence.

Say it back. Say it back: why does every point go back to the text?

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Lesson 3. Roles that share the air

Four small roles keep a table discussion balanced. The Opener asks the first question. The Tracker keeps a tally of who has spoken. The Steel-manner restates the view they disagree with best. The Closer asks the last question: "What do you think now that you did not before?"

Swap roles each time. Give the quietest person the Tracker's tally — seeing it, everyone tends to make room.

Question. One person has spoken six times and two people not at all. Whose role helps most?

  1. The Opener.
  2. The Tracker, whose tally shows who has spoken.
  3. The Closer.

Say it back. In your own words: name the four roles and what each does.

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At the table: A twenty-minute seminar

Players: three to six people, 10 or older. You'll need: a short text everyone can read (a poem, a fable, a news article) and a pencil each.

  1. Read the text aloud once, then silently. Everyone marks one line.
  2. The Opener asks one open question. Every answer points to a line.
  3. The Tracker tallies who speaks; the Steel-manner restates one view they disagree with.
  4. The Closer asks: what do you think now that you did not before?

Answers

  1. Was the narrator fair to her brother? — Whether the narrator was fair is open: people can argue it different ways from the text. The others have one fixed answer.
  2. It points to a line in the text. — Pointing to the text makes a claim checkable by anyone, whatever their age.
  3. The Tracker, whose tally shows who has spoken. — The Tracker's tally shows the table who has and has not spoken, which is usually enough to make room.