Philosophy and Historical Analysis: A Guide to Understanding the Past

Philosopher Analysis 

The Impact of Socrates on Education 

Stoddard, H. A. & O’Dell, D. V. (2016). Would Socrates have used the “Socratic Method” for Clinical Teaching? Journal of General Internal Medicine , 31(9), 1092-1096. 

Socrates is one of the most outstanding philosophers who have formed a fundamental base in the education sphere. When it comes to education, there are several methods that philosophers, lecturers, and other instructors can use to dispense knowledge. The authors of the article argue whether the famous philosopher would have used the “Socratic Method” to teach clinical studies (Stoddard & O’Dell, 2016). According to Stoddard & O’Dell (2016), the Socratic Method is an appropriate method of teaching clinical students. It is important to note that the Socratic Method is distinctively different from pimping, which aims to demoralize students and reinforce the power of a teacher. On the contrary, the Socratic Method is geared towards provoking a learner's thoughts for them to research and understand the concepts of clinical studies. 

Notably, Socrates has had a positive impact on the educations sector. According to the article, the Socratic Method of teaching gives learners the psychological safety that gives learners the ability to ask or answer questions without feeling demeaned (Stoddard & O’Dell, 2016). The psychological safety of learners provided by the Socratic Method forms a fundamental base for empirical studies in clinical studies and the entire medical field. However, some learners perceive the Socratic Method as a source of fear. More often, learners feel that by teachers asking questions on topics that they haven’t covered demeans and lowers their self-esteem. To some extent, fear enables clinical students to dig deeper and understand concepts before a teacher introduces a topic. Therefore, the Socratic Method can be attributed to the improved academic performance of students. 

Knezic, D. (2013). Teachers' Education in Socratic Dialogue: Some Effects on Teacher-Learner Interaction.  The Modern Language Journal,    97 (2), 490-505. 

The article talks about the impact of the Socratic dialogue on the teacher and learner interaction. The Socratic dialogue not only helps to improve the academic performance of a learner but also helps the teacher to meet the laid objectives (Knezic, 2013). Notably, the Socratic dialogue can be defined as a teaching method that allows an instructor to determine the truth and value of a discourse. The Socratic Dialogue is applied among group members, whereby members meet to discuss issues. Every member is allowed to share their opinions through a question and answer forum. The group leader guides members in reviewing the responses. 

The Socratic dialogue's main advantage is that it allows members to reach a consensus on an emotive subject of topics that draw different opinions and thoughts. On the other hand, the Socratic dialogue improves the social life of students and teachers. In the thought-provoking discussions, teachers and learners share their life experiences while at the same time shaping discussions. By virtue of exchanging life experiences, learners get to understand others' social environment and help them connect to other students. Consequently, therein of social dialogue, the social life of teachers and students is greatly improved. 

Nonetheless, the article asserts that reflection is essential in the learning process. The Socratic dialogue facilitates the philosophy of reflection (Knezic, 2013). Reflection enables students to apply critical thinking when reflecting on the subject matter, such as law and clinical studies. Besides, reflective thinking is an independent way that Socratic dialogue invokes and inspires discourse. 

Abrams, J. (2015). Reframing the Socratic Method.  Journal of Legal Education,    64 (4), 562-585. 

As much as the Socratic Method has a positive impact on the education sector, there are disadvantages and limitations. One of the Socratic Method limitations is that it gives the professor or the instructor the image of a sage in the stage (Abrams, 2015). Some learners view a professor as a person with a monopoly and knowledge and rely on the scholar to administer concepts and philosophies. Additionally, students over-rely on the method as the main learning tool, whereas a learner is required to engage in group discussions and perform extensive research to understand their course. In terms of disadvantages, learners feel that teachers wait until there are wrong to be corrected. Most of the leaners believe that the Socratic Method is a source of humiliation to their school life. The exposure of students to humiliation is a prerequisite to bullying and body shaming, which is detrimental to the health and social welfare. 

Additionally, there are limitations of the Socratic Method when it comes to the part of the facilitator. Some teachers do not understand how to use the Socratic Method. Instead, they apply the method inappropriately, which may ruin class discourse by bringing up irrelevant opinions (Abrams, 2015). Besides, there is the aspect of lack of experience on the part of the facilitator. For the Socratic Method to work effectively, the teacher should have relevant experience asking a question and invoking critical thinking among students. Finally, some teachers show outward bias some students in the context of asking a question, which affects students' psychology. 

Synthesis 

Philosophy can be regarded as the backbone of education as it provides a solid base for education through theories and teaching methods. Socrates is arguably one of the famous philosophers from Athens, who has contributed immensely to the modern education sector. Socrates has positively impacted the education sector by the introduction of the Socratic Method and Socratic Dialogue. The Socratic Method entails the use of questions and answers by teachers to invoke critical thinking in the learning process. The Socratic Dialogue is a teaching method that facilitators use to find the truth and value in learners' arguments, answers, and opinions. Besides, Socrates has inspired the use of reflective learning in schools. One the other hand, some scholars have argued that Socrates has negatively impacted the education sector. The use of questions and answers has created a space where learners have suffered psychological torture through humiliation and ridicule for questions that they have failed to answer. 

Preliminary Thesis Statement 

Socrates has impacted the education sector positively by inspiring critical thinking by the use of the Socratic Method and Socratic Dialogue and, to some extent, negatively by creating a room for humiliation and ridicule. 

Historical Topic Analysis 

Racial Inequality in the United States Public Schools 

Fletcher, J & Tienda, M (2010). Race and Ethnic Differences in College Achievement: Does High School Attended Matter? The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , 627(1), 144-166. 

Racial inequality has been an emotive subject in the United States of America. The issue of racial inequality affects not only US citizens but also public schools. Consequently, therein of racial inequality, students' performance in public schools is negatively affected. Fletcher & Tienda (2010) assert a gap in performance between white students and learners of color. The GPA of most white students is higher than that of blacks and Hispanics. The difference in performance is attributed to several factors, such as low expectations of black students. Most teachers and instructors have a low expectation of non-white students. The low expectations are attributed to the fact that white students are seen to be smarter than black students. Additionally, some black parents believe that their children cannot perform to a certain level, which reduces students' efforts towards education. 

Moreover, systemic policies that are biased tend to affect students of color more than white students. Some schools in the US have policies that encourage the suspension of black students. When students of color are forced to take some time off from school, they lose a lot in studies, co-curricular activities, and research, which negatively affects their GPA (Fletcher & Tienda, 2010). Also, some black students get expelled from school for mistakes that either requires punishments or suspension. The school's expulsion forces the student to join another school, which may take a significant amount of time before the parents get enough school fees. The delay in transferring to another school takes a huge chunk of their academic calendar, which is evident in the whites' and blacks' national performance. 

Bécares, L., & Priest, N. (2015). Understanding the Influence of Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Class on Inequalities in Academic and Non-Academic Outcomes among Eighth-Grade Students: Findings from an Intersectionality Approach.  PloS one ,  10 (10). 

The article presents another critical aspect of racial inequality that axes around three areas of interest that are gender, race, and socioeconomic (Bécares & Priest, 2015). However, students' dwindling performance in the US can be attributed to the socioeconomic of parents and schools in the US. There are two points of focus that pertain to the socioeconomic status of parents and schools. Blacks and Hispanics have continued to record the world's highest unemployment rates. As a result of the lack of employment opportunities, people of color are unable to pay school fees for their children, which negatively affects their performance. In addition, unemployed black communities are unable to pay their rents on time; hence their children find themselves having to spend sleep in the cold without a proper place of undertaking their daily assignments. Also, parents that do not have jobs have problems when it comes to providing food to school-going children. Hungry children experienced reduced concentration in class that leaves their counterparts performing better. 

Furthermore, the difference in the socioeconomic status of the public is occasioned by disparities in resource allocation. Notably, schools predominantly dominated by white students are more equipped than those of minority groups (Bécares & Priest, 2015). Some schools that host minority groups are always in a dilapidated state that derails students from performing essential educational procedures such as lab experiments. Another critical area to look at is the type of teachers that teach learners. Schools hosting white students are composed of well-trained teachers who are properly remunerated, while black schools have teachers that lack necessary teaching skills. As a result of the disparity between the teachers, the quality of education offered varies, which reduce the GPA points of the minority students. 

Dennison, C. R., & Swisher, R. R. (2019). Postsecondary Education, Neighborhood Disadvantage, and Crime: An Examination of Life Course Relative Deprivation.  Crime and delinquency ,  65 (2), 215–238. 

The article touches on how crime affects the performance of students in the United States of America. The US's crime rates can be attributed to systemic racial inequality that contributes to the increase in the crime rate (Dennison & Swisher, 2019). Notably, most of the minority groups are socially and economically disadvantaged, which forces them to look for alternative ways to support their families. One of the ways that black families use to fend for families is engaging in crimes such as the sale of drugs and robbery. Though it is illegal to be a criminal in the US, minority groups use crime to survive. The adverse effects of crime not only affect the parents but also affects the school-going children. When black parents are convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, children lack basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter fundamental to the learners' education. 

It can be noted that from the article, school-going children whose parents are incarcerated are forced to live with their relatives or taken to children's homes, which denies them an opportunity to experience parental care and love (Dennison & Swisher, 2019). The lack of guidance and provision of basic needs forces some children to drop out of school to engage in crime. Therefore, crime is a chain that goes around from racial inequality to variance in socioeconomic statutes, crime to children's education. Also, learners that come from racially segregated neighborhoods determine academic performance. Children that come from black neighborhoods perform dismally as compared to those from whites’ neighborhood. The main idea behind the educational variance is the fact that minority students lack role models in society. 

Synthesis 

Since the US's independence, the education sector has continued to form a crucial pillar in the economy. The policies developed and implemented in the country have been anchored on improving the education sector. However, social inequality among US citizens has negatively impacted the performance of students in public schools. The difference in the distribution of resources between the majority and minority schools has, to a greater extent, created a gap in performance. White-dominated schools are equipped with modern facilities such as computing devices, while those schools with black students continue to learn with outdated or dilapidated infrastructure. Additionally, the difference in the socioeconomic status of races creates between the majority and minority groups. There is high unemployment among blacks as compared to whites. The lack of employment opportunities affects school payment, meaning that the probability of minority race-students to be sent home for school fees is higher compared to their white counterparts. 

Preliminary Thesis Statement 

Racial inequality in the US negatively affects students' education performance that can be attributed to the unequal distribution of resources, income, crime, lack of guidance, and parental love. 

References 

Abrams, J. (2015). Reframing the Socratic Method.  Journal of Legal Education,    64 (4), 562-585. 

Bécares, L., & Priest, N. (2015). Understanding the Influence of Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Class on Inequalities in Academic and Non-Academic Outcomes among Eighth-Grade Students: Findings from an Intersectionality Approach.  PloS one ,  10 (10). 

Dennison, C. R., & Swisher, R. R. (2019). Postsecondary Education, Neighborhood Disadvantage, and Crime: An Examination of Life Course Relative Deprivation.  Crime and delinquency ,  65 (2), 215–238. 

Fletcher, J & Tienda, M (2010). Race and Ethnic Differences in College Achievement: Does High School Attended Matter? The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , 627(1), 144-166. 

Knezic, D. (2013). Teachers' Education in Socratic Dialogue: Some Effects on Teacher-Learner Interaction.  The Modern Language Journal,    97 (2), 490-505. 

Stoddard, H. A. & O’Dell, D. V. (2016). Would Socrates have used the “Socratic Method” for Clinical Teaching? Journal of General Internal Medicine , 31(9), 1092-1096.