Byzantine Education
Lesson Plan
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PowerPoint
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Class Materials
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This lesson on the Byzantine education system was the second lesson of our Byzantine Empire unit, immediately following the lesson about the Justinian Code and women’s rights. This lesson also incorporated students’ prior learning about the Greek classics from a previous unit about Ancient Greece.
The class began with a “Do-Now” asking students to reflect upon their education. Students responded to the prompt “What do you learn in school and why?” in two stages. First listing the subjects they learn and why they are taught, and second considering why it is important to reach adulthood having learned that subject. After several minutes of writing, students shared their responses with the class, which converted into an overarching discussion about the purpose of an education system. To transition back into the Byzantine era, I revealed that the reason students reflected on the relevance and applicability of their education to their anticipated adult life is because we were about to learn about the Byzantine education system and its contemporary applicability. I then led into a brief lecture about the Byzantine education system, explaining that that just as the Byzantine’s looked to the Romans to model their code of law, they looked to the ancient Greeks to model their education system. I delineated the structure of the Byzantine education system, and the classical subjects taught in elementary, secondary, and higher education classes. Students then worked in their “letter groups” to analyze primary documents related to mathematics (Euclidean geometry), literature (Homer), philosophy (Aristotle), history (Herodotus), or rhetoric and logic – all classical subjects taught in the Byzantine Empire. After reading and analyzing the documents in their “letter groups,” students wrote a two-to-three sentence response about why they think the Byzantines studied their assigned subject, and then prepared a two-minute mini-lesson to teach to students in their “number groups” (jigsaw). After students convened in their “number groups” and mini-lessons in all five subjects were taught, students recorded a written response to a second prompt posted on the SMART Board: “Do you think the type of classical Greek education taught in the Byzantine Empire should be taught in schools today? Why or why not? What are its benefits? What are its drawbacks?” Students were given several minutes to compose their answers, after which point we concluded the lesson with a whole-class conversation about the relative value of a classical Greek education as compared to our current American education system.
This lesson was bookended by two stimulating conversations revolving around students’ varied and plentiful insights about the relevance and value of the education they receive in school. As we moved onto the Byzantine education system and the Greek classics, several students expressed that they had been looking forward to the opportunity to read and discuss the seminal works of these legendary thinkers. However, I sensed some students felt intimidated by the reading level and confusing circular language of these texts. I provided these students with extra scaffolding by helping to define, for instance, what Aristotle means by “judge” and “follow his passions.” Our class conversations featuring students’ opinions about the value and applicability of the American and classical Greek education systems, engaged students by allowing them to personally identify and relate to the content of the lesson. Students also seemed to relish the opportunity to vent frustrations about their education, which proved in turn to be an enlightening educational experience for me as a teacher. While some students were cynical about their education, some were optimistic, and still others were critical. Regardless of their particular attitude or outlook, all students had something to say:
The class began with a “Do-Now” asking students to reflect upon their education. Students responded to the prompt “What do you learn in school and why?” in two stages. First listing the subjects they learn and why they are taught, and second considering why it is important to reach adulthood having learned that subject. After several minutes of writing, students shared their responses with the class, which converted into an overarching discussion about the purpose of an education system. To transition back into the Byzantine era, I revealed that the reason students reflected on the relevance and applicability of their education to their anticipated adult life is because we were about to learn about the Byzantine education system and its contemporary applicability. I then led into a brief lecture about the Byzantine education system, explaining that that just as the Byzantine’s looked to the Romans to model their code of law, they looked to the ancient Greeks to model their education system. I delineated the structure of the Byzantine education system, and the classical subjects taught in elementary, secondary, and higher education classes. Students then worked in their “letter groups” to analyze primary documents related to mathematics (Euclidean geometry), literature (Homer), philosophy (Aristotle), history (Herodotus), or rhetoric and logic – all classical subjects taught in the Byzantine Empire. After reading and analyzing the documents in their “letter groups,” students wrote a two-to-three sentence response about why they think the Byzantines studied their assigned subject, and then prepared a two-minute mini-lesson to teach to students in their “number groups” (jigsaw). After students convened in their “number groups” and mini-lessons in all five subjects were taught, students recorded a written response to a second prompt posted on the SMART Board: “Do you think the type of classical Greek education taught in the Byzantine Empire should be taught in schools today? Why or why not? What are its benefits? What are its drawbacks?” Students were given several minutes to compose their answers, after which point we concluded the lesson with a whole-class conversation about the relative value of a classical Greek education as compared to our current American education system.
This lesson was bookended by two stimulating conversations revolving around students’ varied and plentiful insights about the relevance and value of the education they receive in school. As we moved onto the Byzantine education system and the Greek classics, several students expressed that they had been looking forward to the opportunity to read and discuss the seminal works of these legendary thinkers. However, I sensed some students felt intimidated by the reading level and confusing circular language of these texts. I provided these students with extra scaffolding by helping to define, for instance, what Aristotle means by “judge” and “follow his passions.” Our class conversations featuring students’ opinions about the value and applicability of the American and classical Greek education systems, engaged students by allowing them to personally identify and relate to the content of the lesson. Students also seemed to relish the opportunity to vent frustrations about their education, which proved in turn to be an enlightening educational experience for me as a teacher. While some students were cynical about their education, some were optimistic, and still others were critical. Regardless of their particular attitude or outlook, all students had something to say:
Jordan, a male student who typically puts forth minimal effort into his social studies assignments and often expresses disinterest in the subject, was the first to raise his hand in this lesson’s “Do-Now” discussion. His written response closely mirrored his comments in class as he articulated, “In school I am taught who does things, what they did, when they did it, where they did it, why they did it, and how they did it. Plus, most if the things I am taught will not be put to use in real life. Also, it’s all about getting that A.” Jordan’s comments elicited many nods and vocal confirmations from his peers, indicating that he had identified a popular sentiment. Jordan views school learning (apparently history in particular) as futile because of the lack of direct application of this knowledge to his “real life.” Similarly, in his reflection upon the final question, “Should the Byzantine Empire’s classical Greek education be taught today?”, Jordan responded, “Geometry shouldn’t be taught in schools today because there is no chance in using postulates in real life situations. The benefits of learning it would only be so that a person has the knowledge of it. Drawbacks of it would be that a person is learning something that might not be useful after it is learned.” Here, Jordan again lamented the lack of applicability of his school learning to “real life situations,” interestingly noting that the benefits and drawbacks cancel out one another – he declares having the “knowledge” as the sole benefit, while the drawback is also having the “knowledge” because it “might not be useful after it is learned.” After having Jordan as a student in World History class all year, his straightforward dismissiveness of school learning was not surprising. However, I was surprised to read his declaration, “it’s all about getting that A.” Even though Jordan’s efforts in class and on his assignments are usually threadbare, he still subscribes to Bookman’s pervasive culture of high grades and academic achievement as the ultimate goal. Read the complete transcript of Jordan’s classwork here:
jordans_byzantine_education_classwork_transcription.docx | |
File Size: | 70 kb |
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Nathan, a high-achieving male student with strong executive academic skills, was readily accepting of the value and applicability of his school subjects. Simply stated, Nathan wrote, “Spanish is taught because it’s great to know two languages. Math is taught because everyday life has a ton of math in it. We learn English to become more well-versed and well-read, while speaking with strong grammar. We learn bio to learn about the natural world, and we learn history so we don’t repeat our mistakes.” Without concerning himself with the specific relevance of every postulate learned in geometry class, Nathan plainly views everyday life as having “a ton of math in it.” Apart from names, dates, and places, Nathan reasoned that learning history is important “so we don’t repeat our mistakes.” Moreover, in considering the value of his school education on the whole, Nathan asserted, “It is important to learn everything because that’s what it takes to succeed in real life; you can’t just know every math problem but no grammar. It’s just very important to have a solid understanding of everything.” Notably, Nathan frames his outlook on the relevance of school to the ability to “succeed in real life,” not in terms of “knowledge,” but rather “understanding.” Despite Nathan’s ability to retain copies amounts of information and excel on my classroom mentor’s multiple choice-only tests, he still views his education as a search for understanding, not knowledge. Read the complete transcript of Nathan’s classwork here:
nathans_byzantine_education_classwork_transcription.docx | |
File Size: | 108 kb |
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Daliah, a highly motivated female student who shines as a linguistic learner and legislative thinker, was quick to counter Jordan’s in-class assertions. She contended that the value of formal education lies in the acquisition of critical thinking skills as opposed to content knowledge. Like Nathan she argued, “Basic math is taught because it is necessary for daily interactions with the world,” while “higher math is solely for critical thinking.” Similarly, Daliah reasoned that history is “Partly to be more cultured, also a way of teaching critical thinking.” In her response, Daliah bypassed the case to be made for “understanding” of school subjects, and focused instead on developing habits of mind. To sum-up, Daliah concluded, “knowing how to think is the most important skill you can ever have.” Read the complete transcript of Daliah’s classwork here:
daliahs_byzantine_education_classwork_transcription.docx | |
File Size: | 127 kb |
File Type: | docx |
The varied sampling of student responses on this page are not presented to judge one against the other, but to simulate the lively class discussions and demonstrate the high level of engagement from a range of students around the issue of education.