WELCOME!

With the following introduction to Thomas More Institute we extend a hearty word of welcome to all students, both those returning after an absence and others totally new to our format. The Institute's reading-discussion method really needs to be experienced to get its true flavour, but a few words of explanation may be helpful.

....The text is the professor
The reading-discussion format of the Thomas More Institute is, for some, surprisingly different from learning in a lecture hall. First of all, our discussion leaders are proud to call themselves students. Although they may have special knowledge in a particular field the leaders do not lecture: the text is the professor.

Courses are a multidisciplinary mix of the most recent scholarship on a theme. We have found over the years that a work of literature may be effective in challenging entrenched opinions and making us more receptive towards learning in a new way.

The shared inquiry unfolds in a specially designed sequence to facilitate open-ended response to the underlying questions that come alive as the theme takes on flesh.

A troika of leaders rotates so that there is a team of two focusing the conversation by asking questions. A leader is only free to participate as a "student", expressing viewpoints, every third week.

This mosaic of opinions and reactions from people of different ages, backgrounds and life experiences contributes to the richness of the academic journey.

... Asking questions
Second, the discussion team only asks questions to channel the conversation. (Those coming to find easy "final" answers will be sorely disappointed.)

We endorse the Socratic method that sees the task of educators as being one which enables students to evaluate data and come to their own understanding. Participants learn to listen to one another; people of all ages and all backgrounds coming together to exchange their views on what a reading means to them. (If a leader addresses you by name, it is not to embarrass but because the leader really wants to know, as does the group, what you think.)

... Trusting the process
The Thomas More method requires rigorous exploration, clear references to common terms and respect for alternate views. The challenge in Institute courses is not for students to agree, or come to a consensus, or "group mind" but to embrace new ways of thinking that go beyond individual bias. The key is to trust the process. For this experiment to "work", students should fully master the reading and attend classes faithfully. When a text is difficult, the student should plod ahead knowing that the group will work together to unpack it. Learning is cooperative rather than competitive. It is fueled by active participation.
Respectful listening is the cornerstone of a learning community.