Training Students in the Art of Conversation with Justin Smith
Harkness at school. Conversation at home. Dr. Justin Smith joins host Davies Owens to explore how text-centered dialogue - whether called Harkness or Socratic - forms students who pursue truth with humility rather than drifting into “opinions only.” Practical takeaways for teachers and parents alike, from classroom techniques to dinner-table habits.
BaseCamp Live · Justin Smith, Davies Owens
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Show Notes
We live in a culture of soundbites, but Christian parents and educators are called to form young people who listen well, think deeply, and speak with humility and grace. Host Davies Owens sits down with Dr. Justin Smith, Head of School at Little Rock Christian Academy and Herzog Foundation coach, to unpack the Harkness Method (a modern form of Socratic dialogue) and why it may be one of the most vital forms of discipleship in our time.
In this conversation:
- Harkness vs. Socratic: what’s the same, what’s different, and how each keeps the text at the center rather than opinion.
- Truth matters: how Christ-centered schools avoid “bad talk radio” and anchor discussion in authorial intent, Scripture, and absolute truth.
- Formation over performance: why silence, restraint, and student discovery create stickier learning than efficient lectures.
- K–12 on-ramps: how Justin’s team trains 7th–12th graders in names, manners, eye contact, question stems, and textual evidence.
- Home practices: simple dinner-table question bowls, “roses & thorns,” and “heaven & earth” prompts that cultivate a household of inquiry.
🎧 Join Davies Owens and Jacob Hess as they unpack how to fill our homes and classrooms with better stories that train hearts to love what God loves.
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