Julia Rodinec

Mrs. Storer

English 3H, Block 1

1/19/20
Socratic Circle Reflection on Emerson and Thoreau

This Socratic seminar was based off of the views of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry
David Thoreau. As a group, our discussion was based off of relating their views to our own lives.
For example, Emerson stated in his writing (nature), “The sun illuminates only the eye of a man
but shines into the eye and the heart of the child”. Our group really connected to this quote and
brought up our own experiences that relate to it. We talked about how as a child you see things
differently than as an adult. As a group we did a good job at adding on to other people’s
opinions, but we also did a good job at starting new ideas or contradictions. We also discussed
“civil Disobedience” by Thoreau. In this discussion there were a lot of awkward moments where
no one was talking or contributing new ideas. I thought that for this story we should have
included more ideas that relate to us as teenagers.
In the discussion, I added new ideas towards the quote stated earlier. In the discussion I
had stated that throughout life, as a child you will be more curious, but as time goes by, you
grow up. People change each day and our world changes with us. As technologies become more
advanced in our society, our way of living as a child was different than children today. In the
next Socratic seminar, I want to try to contradict different ideas and bring a different view on the
topic to the table. I would also like to try to use more textual evidence and answers more
questions.
If I were to write a paper about these stories, I would write it on “From Nature” by Ralph
Waldo Emerson. The meaning of this story is to help us appreciate nature and all the things that
God has created. This story shows that nature can have a great meaning in people’s life. It also
shows how nature is a true representation of humanity and God’s creation. It also describes
nature as a way to escape reality and a way to relax and destress. It states that the stars in the sky
awake reverence, because of their inaccessibility.
In today’s society many people don’t recognize the importance of nature. Our lives are so
busy that we don’t have time to just stop and smell the roses. Here in San Diego we take
advantage of the beauty around us. Many people would love to live here and enjoy all of the
beautiful sites, but we are so used to it that we don’t even give it a second thought. When I go up
to the mountains, I experience all the beauty that God has given us, but in the city it’s so hard to
let go of our everyday tasks and experience something new that is always around us.