Socratic Method

In Plato’s Apology, Socrates uses the Socratic Method of education. He uses questions that are posed to make the person being question critical thinking. This way of teaching does not give answers, but makes people think for themselves and develop what they believe the answer should be. It stimulates intellectual curiosity and causes people to be a better thinker, along with developing a stronger view of their beliefs. This method of teaching is extremely beneficial in the learning world today. It makes students think about answers to questions for themselves by not already having the answer put into their heads. This method can be beneficial because it causes people to examine how solid their own beliefs are, but in some instances I do not think it is all together beneficial. This teaching method is extremely indirect. Socrates never gets right to the point, but circles around the main issue. For the learners, this approach is extremely frustrating. Even though they are interested in learning what he has to say, they aren’t completely learning. By just asking questions and having the students develop their own answers, they aren’t learning anything at all. His method develops critical thinking, but it does not make them develop a wealth of knowledge. You are not able to elaborate and think about a topic that you do not have any prior knowledge about. If the students have the prior knowledge, I believe the Socratic Method is an extremely beneficial way to teach. It makes students test their knowledge along with develop critical thinking.