Midterm Socratic Seminar

We will be having a Socratic Seminar discussing the legal minimum wage. You will have the opportunity to share your opinion on whether you feel the minimum wage we have in the United States is adequate, should be changed or abolished. To meet this criteria you need to demonstrate thorough knowledge of the topic. Remember that merely making a statement which is not backed up by any hard facts will not be enough. You need to have a well planned out and supported position. To prepare yourself for the seminar, complete the following steps: Step 1: Read the texts that I have provided for you in class. This can be the articles I have attached here, our book we are currently reading, US Dept of Labor stats, etc. Look for quotations that catch your interest. Step 2: Write down any lines, quotes, excerpts, or phrases you found interesting, important, or just caught your attention. Summarize what they mean and what argument they support. Step 3: Create open-ended questions to share with your classmates regarding information on min. wage. Here are some handy dandy articles for you to use to help your position (make sure you note the source) **use these and feel free to research on your own-more info to back up your stance the better! http://articles.cnn.com/2008-07-25/us/minimum.wage.workers_1_minimum-wage-minimum-wage-teenagers-or-part?_s=PM:US Article about minimum wage workers http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/index.htm Overview of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm Dept of Labor Stats on min. wage by state http://www.balancedpolitics.org/minimum_wage.htm Yes and No arguments of min. wage http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2010/06/30/minimum-national-wage/ Arguments on min. wage http://www.dol.gov/whd/about/whdabout.htm Dept of Labor info on Wage by Hour http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1648055,00.html Interesting jobs in US Here are some sample questions to serve as the key question or interpret the text questions: What is the main idea or underlying value in the text? What is the author’s purpose or perspective? What does (a particular phrase) mean? What might be a good title for the text? What is the most important word/sentence/paragraph? Sample questions to move the discussion along: Who has a different perspective? Who has not yet had a chance to speak? Where do you find evidence for that in the text? Can you clarify what you mean by that? How does that relate to what (someone else) said? Is there something in the text that is unclear to you? Has anyone changed their mind? Sample questions to bring the discussion back to students in closing: How do the ideas in the text relate to our lives? What do they mean for us personally? Why is this material important? Is it right that….? Do you agree with the author? Sample debriefing questions: Do you feel like you understand the text at a deeper level? How was the process for us? Did we adhere to our norms? Did you achieve your goals to participate? What was one thing you noticed about the seminar?