Adriana Mamou

Mrs. Storer
English 3 Honors American Literature, Block 1
September 19, 2019
The Crucible Socratic Circle Reflection
When looking at my own work and effort put into the Socratic circle I have to say what I
did well, but not as well as I wished for. Personally, I would rate my preparation for the Socratic
circle as a seven because I didn't really take a lot of time to find evidence within the text to back
up my ideas. Usually, I would find quotes within the text but I did not prepare as well as I would
have liked too. Although, I would say that my contributions within the group were an eight. This
is because I did find myself speaking a lot I would say I spoke at least twice when a question was
asked. I believe that I had good quality feedback to give back to my group because I tried not to
repeat things and display my own point of view. I also spoke loudly and clearly so that all in my
group and the outside circle could hear what I had to share. Moving on, I would rate my
teamwork within the inner circle as a ten because I believe I contributed well and I did share
relevant information. I did have some evidence to support my stance and I did refer back to what
was shared by others within my group. When working on the outer circle I would say that my
feedback was an eight because I definitely could have given my partner more feedback.
However, I did not just leave my partner to solve their strengths or weaknesses on their own and
did share what I believed they thrived in and what they could improve in. Personally, I would
have made sure I had more proof from the story because I was sharing my opinions solely based
on what I had concluded or could take from what was going on. I definitely could have reached
higher success if I had more textual evidence to reinforce my claims. Overall, for the next
Socratic circle my goal is to come prepared with more evidence that will allow me to really drive
my point across. I also hope to speak more, but I feel as if I did a good job on the first Socratic
circle of the year and hope to improve as the year progresses.
When looking at a broader perspective of my group performance I believe my group did
very well. I think I would rate my group’s preparation as a seven out of ten. This is because we
did not really have as much textual evidence as to the group that had gone before us. Although,
we did do a good job at analyzing the quotes and when one person did have proof and evidence
to support their viewpoint our group as a whole would go off of the text provided. I think that we
had a good flow of conversation and would rate out conversation as a nine out of ten. This is
because efficiently answered the questions and ensured that all opinions were heard and if
opinions were opposed by others we attempted to understand another perspective. I would rate
our level of teamwork within my group as an eight because again, we did well at blending ideas.
Yet, some people did not seem as engaged in the circle as others. Our group did have a different
approach to the Socratic circle than the first group because we used more analysis and our own
ideas rather than sticking to just the text which I feel made our circle more interesting. The
feedback that was given back to the inner circle while our group was on the outer school could
be rated a seven. I have chosen this score because I feel as if we did not give enough to the point
where the inner circle could take our feedback and really apply it. In summary, I strongly believe
that my inner circle group did an amazing job while sharing ideas and speaking with one another
throughout the Socratic circle.
Within a Socratic circle, ideas are shared amongst others who have at least one thing in
common, this being that they all have read the same book. Throughout the Socratic circle, the
questions asked were very significant because they allowed us to dive deeper into the book and
understand and reveal different meanings within the text. The questions asked of the group were
questions that could not be answered solely from reading the book, they were questions that one
needed to apply themselves too in order to provide a thorough response. By taking pieces from
the text and questions asked of the text one was able to find a deeper understanding of what the
passage read. The ability to read the text was given to all, however, by answering and be asked
these questions groups were able to really connect the passage to real life and put ourselves in
the shoes of others. From the Socratic circle ideas of others were shared and this also allowed
others to find and interpret alternate meanings of the text. Rather than reading the text we took a
question asked of the piece and analyzed and interpreted what we believed it truly meant. For
instance, my group thrived in the ability to take in the ideas of others and finding a balance
between their own. Instead of totally opposing the claim made the two were joined and taken in
by others. To conclude, I feel as if the use of a Socratic circle is very important to a better
understanding of the book because it allowed the thoughts and ideas of others, with the use of the
text, to truly grasp another explanation of what the text may be reading.
When connecting the questions asked to my own life or the world I can conclude that
there is a connection. If I put my own life into the perspective on the content I can see some
similarities. For example, when my group was asked the question, “What role does the human
tendency to obey authority have in influencing the characters' actions or lack of actions
throughout the play?”, I feel as though this question can also be applied to life today. When I am
faced with the need to obey an authority I try to do my best because I would hate to displease
that person who does have power over me. For example, if my mom asks something of me I
ensure that it is done when asked because if not I will face consequences. This leads me into the
fear that is also brought with the power of authority. In today’s world, many people who are
faced with some power of authority almost seem to be frightened. With the fear that has been
instilled within they conduct and perform all that is asked of them in cases that they know they
have something to lose. However, I feel as if nothing is at stake or it really has no value to them,
people will turn away from the authority and will instead revolt. For instance, people in the
world have their own beliefs and if they are not seen as they wish they often tend to start
petitions that sometimes turn into violent riots. Later, as an authority is applied the “victims” like
to play the part as if they have not acted against authority. If we are given something to abide by
I believe that later there will be consequences faced if these obligations are not followed.