Second Baptist School

Harkness Method Initiative

One of the greatest challenges in educating our youth today is to have them look beyond facts, dates, and statistics – to actively engage in critical thinking, and be able to persuasively articulate what they know and believe.

A properly educated Upper School graduate must be able to write and speak effectively, demonstrating not only knowledge, but also confidence in analyzing ideas, problems, and propositions. Similarly, they must be able to integrate disparate information and synthesize a coherent meaning that brings greater clarity and understanding out of complex issues.

Such an education demands active participation and intellectual engagement from students. To accomplish such worthy goals with our students requires an approach to teaching that encourages – even demands – that our boys and girls write and speak often, continually honing their rhetorical skills.

Therefore, at Second Baptist School, we are implementing more classroom experiences in which students can develop skills that will be valuable in college and useful for a lifetime. Modeled after the teaching methods enabled by Edward Harkness since 1931 at Phillips Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire, the SBS initiative will begin with 6th grade humanities classes – primarily English – during the 2010 – 2011 school year. Classes will have up to 14 students and be taught seminar style around an oval table. Small classes and the table facilitate greater opportunities for participation.

Our faculty members teaching Harkness classes are being trained in the specific methods that help students become proficient in effective group discussion. Students will come to class having prepared well at home. Students will be taught by competent teachers encouraging them to use their voices confidently; they will answer and ask questions, respectfully challenge ideas, and pose their own views, using the text as a basis for the discussion. While participation is more important than in a lecture-based class, traditional means of assessing student achievement will continue to include quizzing, testing, and written essays.

We believe that students will respond positively to this initiative. We also believe that the challenge of moving boys and girls from a passive note-taking, lecture-based class to an active student-centered role generating natural curiosity and personal interest is educationally sound and more congruent with our school’s mission of preparing young people for successful lives of service guided by a biblical world view. We are enthusiastic about this plan.

This initiative holds great promise to help our students become more articulate, confident, and engaged in the learning process. By introducing Harkness in a meaningful but limited number of classes, the school is taking an important step in promoting student ownership of and commitment to the learning process.