Some Cincinnati schools use rare teaching method

CINCINNATI (AP) — Some Cincinnati public schools are using a teaching method focused on debate and the Socratic method while most American schools focus on the teaching of facts and helping students pass standardized tests.

The paideia teaching method, which came from philosopher Mortimer Adler’s 1982 book “The Paideia Proposal,” focuses on classical educational techniques such as debate, the Socratic method and critical thinking.

In its purest form, the curriculum also includes foreign language and fine arts, but those pursuits often have fallen victim to budget cuts.

Terry Roberts, director of the National Paideia Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., said Cincinnati, Chicago and Chattanooga, Tenn., are the only school districts in the country to provide paideia education from kindergarten through 12th grade. Cincinnati Public Schools has four full-fledged paideia schools.

Roberts said the method has declined in use over the past decade because of the increasing importance of standardized tests. To pass those tests, students have to learn specific information that isn’t efficiently taught through the paideia method.

“Many times that’s viewed as ‘slow learning,’ if you will,” Roberts said. “To be honest, I think they’re right. But not only is it slow, it’s much more long-lasting.”

At paideia schools, no more than 10 percent of instruction time should be used for traditional lectures. Teachers help their students reach conclusions by prompting them with tough questions and guiding them along the way.

The students at Cincinnati’s paideia schools are in the middle academically, scoring around the district’s average on state standardized tests.