The Kite Runner Socratic Seminar #1 Reflection

The Kite Runner Socratic Seminar #1 Reflection

     Our first discussion of the The Kite Runner influenced my way of thinking on a variety of topics. One of the main topics we discussed, that influenced my way of thinking, was what makes a good father. It was interesting to see who thought Baba was a good or bad father and why. One thing that made me think into more depth was when someone asked if Amir should feel guilty about not preventing Hassan's rape. At first I thought of course he should feel guilty, but someone brought up the point that he was a child and was probably completely shocked and did not know what to do. I still think Amir should have felt some level of guilt for not preventing Hassan's rape because he could have prevented it, if he let Assef have the kite.

     There were many statements that my peers made, which I agreed with. The statement that I agreed with most, which was made by one of my peers, was that they would not want to have Baba as a father. I agreed with this statement because Baba does not seem like a good father, since he does not accept who Amir is, and only wants him to follow in his footsteps. The statement I most disagreed with, was when someone said that they would like Baba as a father because they like the idea of tough love. I think tough love is something that works for some kids, but personally I do not like the idea of tough love, since I tend to be more sensitive than others. If I had the opportunity to say anything that I did not get to say, I probably would have defended the idea that Amir should feel guilty about not defending Hassan's rape because all he had to do was give Assef the kite in order to stop it. I would have said this because some people were saying that he should not feel so guilty, since he was only a child but I think that at the time he was just being selfish and cared more about his kite and pleasing Baba, than his friend's safety.

     I think that we all did a good job of participating in this seminar. I'm pleased with the way that everyone in our group got the chance to speak. I'm also pleased that everyone in our circle encouraged people to speak. I also think we did a good job at staying on topic and not drifting away to irrelevant topics. Lastly, I think that the questions that were asked were good, because they sparked in-depth discussions and there were no awkward pauses.

     One thing that could use improvement is to have the non-dominators speak more. Even though everyone in a circle spoke, the non-dominators only spoke about once or twice. Speaking once or twice is not enough to get your full points. Also, the non-dominators should not just speak to get their points. They should try to get into the discussion more and speak because they want their voices and opinions heard. Other than that, I thought this socratic seminar was successful.