What can an ancient man who lived in Greece more then 2300 years ago teach us today about teaching and learning ?

Socrates was one of the greatest philosophers in the world. He worked as a sculptor and was a soldier when he was 40. When an oracle declared that he was the wisest man in the world, he devoted the rest of his life as a speaker and teacher.

But what kind of a teacher was he? Unlike many teachers today, he was famous for saying that “I only know that I know nothing.” He believed that he, as well as his students, were ignorant and through a series of questioning, the students will be educated. His belief is that he cannot teach anybody anything. He can only make them think. He did not believe in providing answers for his students but engaged them in the discovery of truth.

Man, according to Socrates, was born good, but ignorance makes his actions bad. Therefore the only true virtue is knowledge. Through the process of argument and definitions of ethical ideas he believed that we could get on the right path. "Know thyself", he said. Hence his most famous quotation: “An unexamined life is not worth living.”

Personally as an educator for over two decades, my favorite quotation is this : Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. To me this quotation reminds me that the responsibility for being educated lies with the students. As educators, we can only create the environment where students can learnt and discover truth.

Finally I lave you with the following observation which Socrates made about the youth in Athens.

The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.

It looks like this ancient man can still be relevant for us today.

The Ess