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The Magnet Program - Jamie Peters

    I had flashbacks to my middle school days this weekend, people. I was blessed to be able to attend a magnet program during my time in Montgomery. Every person attending had a choice in their focus: the arts or academics. Both of the options had elements of the other in it, balancing out the knowledge gained from both. Personally, my focus was in academics, so I was able to take special classes like Chinese and computer courses (if you have seen my typing skills, you know I didn't take those). In the arts, I was able to take piano, and that basis has allowed me to play many instruments including bassoon, percussion, and piano. The wide academic background I gained in the magnet program fits very well with Plato's/Socrates' idea of a perfect education system. The few that are able to meet the standards of the program are able to excel over other students overall, much like the children chosen for guardianship (Plato, 111).
    There is another aspect of Plato's/Socrates' perfect education - gymnastics. As best as I can figure, gymnastics is the physical training of the body, much like today, except it covers every part of exercise. I believe this term would be most closely associated with the training of an army, and in the case of raising youth, it would not be unlike what Sparta did with their young men. In the magnet program, we also had an excellent gym program. I can honestly admit that I was the most in shape out of my entire life so far in the 7th grade because of that program. Their love for success expanded into all regions, including physical education. I can truly say that that program follows the philosophy of Socrates, that "... the one who achieves the fairest blend of music and gymnastic in the instruction of his soul will be a greater musician by far..." (110).


I commented on Clabo's and Haley Riddle's posts.

Comments

  1. Hailey MorganSeptember 26, 2020 at 12:50 AM

    So, I was home schooled from 5th grade, all the way up through high school. However, I feel as though my education was similar to the teachings Socrates' Guardians would have received. As a homeschooler, academics were very important. Many kids were a year ahead of their peers or were at least pretty well versed in areas of higher education.

    While the academic side of homeschooling was great, the physical education wasn't really there. While there were a ton of opportunities to get active, not very many people (myself included) really went for anything like that. We stockpiled all of our energy into one single thing and, honestly, that probably wasn't the best thing for us. Sure, we did great when it came time to go to college, but none of us really had a good physical fitness background to help fight against the Freshman 15!

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