cause—the outcome—is the most important. I don’t think you can say “most
important” because what’s important
depends on what matters to you at the
time.
As students got up to leave at the end
of the class, shouldering their backpacks, one said, “I never thought of so
many causes before. I never really
stopped to think about what’s behind it.”
All Disciplines—and Parents—
Welcomed
Touchstones discussions encompass an
interdisciplinary array of readings
drawn from folktales, literature, law,
philosophy, history, social sciences,
science, art, and mathematics. Is it
possible to have a lively discussion of a
Euclidean proof? Absolutely.
In a recent class, my students
expressed surprise that some expository
writing focused on mathematics. A
passage from A Mathematician’s Apology,
by G. H. Hardy, proposes that mathematics can be beautiful. After a fair
amount of grumbling that math was
serious but not beautiful, one student
said, “Well, because time exists outside
our individual life spans, I suppose you
could say that mathematics, in that sense,
is beautiful and gives us measurement
and meaning beyond our lives.” At that
moment, the change in my 8th graders’
perception of mathematics was palpable.
In conjunction with units on colonial
America, we might read from the writ-
ings of Thomas Jefferson or Alexis de
Tocqueville or from the Federalist Papers.
After reading the U.S. Bill of Rights, one
student summed up the feelings of our
group when she said, referring to the
First Amendment, “I’m amazed that our
American way of life comes from these
four or five lines of text.”
Touchstones discussions also provide
an opportunity to invite parents to
participate and to include guests from
other schools and local colleges. We had
a parent participant for a 5th grade
reading on the “Life of Lycurgus” from
Plutarch’s Lives. Lycurgus, the lawgiver
of Sparta, forbade travel abroad or visits
from strangers. The students noted that,
unlike ancient Sparta, we welcomed
visitors.
The Payoff?
We recognize successful adults as those
who are most adroit in knowing when
to speak, when to interject, how to
Is it possible to have
a lively discussion
of a Euclidean proof?
build on others’ ideas, and how to make
a point through humor and style. The
person who listens, analyzes what’s
going on, and presents a synthesis that
enables the group to reach another level
of thinking—this individual will be the
one whom others look to.
Does weekly practice in intellectual
discourse help create such learners?
What happens to my students after our
Touchstones discussions?
High school admission directors and
teachers have told me that our St.
Martin’s-in-the-Field middle school
graduates are known for being articulate, at ease in classroom discussion,
and civil. A college professor attended a
7th grade two-hour final exam based on
a discussion about the roles of religion
in society. The students had studied this
topic in a social studies unit on Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism.
He came out of the room shaking his
Absolutely.
head, saying, “That seminar was as good
as any in my college—and better than
many.”
Learning the dynamics of discussion
has helped many students. One alumna,
who rarely spoke during Touchstones
discussions, told me that as a result of
her participation in the program, she
had gradually overcome her fear of
speaking. She had become comfortable
with uncertainty and disagreement and
had grown to value every contribu-
tion—her own included.
The transformational moment—the
magic—happens when students apply
the Touchstones discussion approach to
their own interests. After we read On
Nature, in which the author Lucretius
imagines a man throwing a spear at the
edge of the universe, a 6th grader
brought in a DVD showing a view of
space from the Hubble telescope.
Such discussions teach students not
only to have confidence in their own
interests but also to become lifelong
learners. Reading closely, posing questions, probing an idea—these are the
spearheads of curiosity that carry us to
the edge of our known worlds, and then
a step beyond. EL
Cynthia Barry is Librarian and Touchstones Discussion Teacher at St.
Martin’s-in-the-Field Day School, Severna
Park, Maryland; cbarry@stmartinsday
school.org.
