Founding Fathers Socratic Seminar
Directions: Read the guidelines for Socratic Seminar. Develop answers and statements
preparing your Founding Father for discussion.
Guidelines: Students in the inner circle will be in charge of generating and maintaining
discussion, not debate! The goal is to explore the question from the perspective of the Founding
Fathers in order to come up with a viable answer. Students should NOT voice personal opinions
regarding the topics. Students may disagree, but should voice the Founding Fathers’ disagreement
with the intention of bringing added meaning to the question and/or text not for the sake of
argument. Students in the outer circle will be in charge of keeping track of comments and
assessing the QUALITY of comments. Students in the outer circle are also responsible for taking
notes on the ideas generated by the discussion participants.
Scoring: Students in the inner circle are required to make three to five insightful comments on the
discussion questions. Students in the outer circle will receive sticky notes to record burning
questions or thoughts that have not been answered in the discussion. Once an idea is written on a
sticky note, the note may be passed to someone in the inner circle for inclusion in the discussion
but only if the comment that furthers the conversation and does not merely repeat ideas previously
stated.
Types of comments and symbols:
/ = comment made
√= A comment that stems from the discussion at hand—a paraphrase of the last student comment
in order to demonstrate that he/she is listening and adding or generating new meaning, an
insightful question to generate new meaning, a comment using the text to generate discussion and
to support the point. Habits of mind, most of all, are listening!
X = student is talking to others during the seminar; student is not capable of answering or
defending questions asked of him/her because of not paying attention; student makes abusive
comments; student makes off-task, irrelevant comments; student makes comments from a
personal perspective. Each X will reduce the comment score.
Founding Fathers: Analysis Questions
Directions: In order to prepare for the Socratic Seminar, please take a few minutes to think about
the following topics and come prepared to class to discuss all of them using the voice of the
Founding Father you researched. You don’t know which ones your group will get! Topics of
discussion include: censorship, environmental policy, healthcare reform, immigration, same-sex
marriage, and zero-tolerance policy.
Censorship: “The U.S. strongly supports respect for freedom of expression and press freedom in
China, including over the Internet,” said a State Department spokesperson who spoke on the
condition of anonymity to discuss the matter. “We have continually urged China to respect
internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms on the Internet, including
freedom of expression.” (The Washington Post, June 29, 2012)
Question: How should the United States respond to censorship of media outlets? Discuss what
messages the government sends society about dissemination of ideas. Remember to include how
policy affects relationships with foreign nations and powers.
Environmental Policy: Political, corporate, public, economic, and scientific entities often have
conflicting desires related to the protection of and utilization of natural resources.
Question: To what extent or level should the United States government intervene to resolve
environmental problems? Consider how power should be divided between federal, state, and local
jurisdiction. Address the standards that should be set, how the standards will be monitored, and how
the policy deals with those who do not comply with the standards.
Healthcare Reform: “In March 2010, Congress passed and the President signed into law the
Affordable Care Act, which puts in place comprehensive health insurance reforms that will hold
insurance companies accountable, lower costs, guarantee choice, and enhance quality health care for
all Americans.” (The White House, 2012)
Question: How should the United States respond to those who do not have access to affordable,
quality, and comprehensive health care insurance? Consider how the current policy should be
reformed, who might benefit from policy changes, and the government’s role in regulating the
quality of care.
Immigration: “Just over two in five (43.7 percent) immigrants in the United States in 2009 were
naturalized US citizens. The remaining 56.3 percent of immigrants included legal permanent
residents, unauthorized immigrants, and legal residents on temporary visas, such as students and
temporary workers.” (Migration Policy Institute, 2010)
Question: What should be done about illegal immigrants who have settled in the United States?
Consider the political, economic, and social implications that would take place immediately and ones
that would have a lasting impact.
Same-Sex Marriage: Same-Sex Marriage licenses are granted in six states. Two states acknowledge
such marriage licenses from other states. Twelve states prohibit same-sex marriage in statute and
thirty prohibit it in the state's constitution. (CNN, May 31, 2012)
Question: How should the federal government regulate marriage license? Consider the delineation
of power between federal, state, and local jurisdiction to regulate marriage. Also consider how
licenses should be recognized in various states and territories.
Zero-Tolerance Policy: The American Psychological Association (APA) defined zero tolerance as
“a philosophy or policy that mandates the application of predetermined consequences, most often
severe and punitive in nature, that are intended to be applied regardless of the gravity of behavior,
mitigating circumstances, or situational context.” (APA, 2008)
Question: What policies should the government implement to predetermine consequences for
unacceptable behavior? Consider what behaviors warrant zero-tolerance, the message students
receive in the education environment, and how much flexibility schools should be given to
implement policies.