The St. John’s College Teachers Institute provides a convenient way for educators to continue to learn and grow. Every year, our Teachers Institute provides opportunities for educators to read great books, experience the collaborative discussion-based learning at St. John’s, and exchange ideas with a network of educators who value the life of the mind as much as you.
Both our on-campus and online programs are made possible by the St. John’s Graduate Institute and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The support from the National Endowment for the Humanities comes in the form of their We the People program, which is designed to encourage and enhance the teaching, study, and understanding of American history, culture, and democratic principles.
As with all instruction at St. John’s, the Teachers Institute explores readings from original texts with all classes as seminar-style discussions. Our esteemed St. John’s faculty leads our classes, all of which have fewer than 20 students and all of which are interactive conversations.
The Teachers Institute is part of St. John’s Graduate Institute, which has a long history of preparing teachers at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In particular, the Graduate Institute offers the Master of Arts in Liberal Arts, the Master of Arts in Eastern Classics, and the Liberal Arts Education Certificate, which is specifically designed for teachers. In addition, generous scholarships are available for educators.
Online Seminar: Saturday, April 29, 2023
Join fellow educators for an afternoon of conversation and reflection on a selection from The Analects of Confucius. The Analects, a collection of teachings thought to be compiled by students of Confucius shortly after his death, raises fundamental questions about virtue and political life. Sometimes cryptic and enigmatic, the Analects are always challenging and provide a springboard for great conversations.
Online Seminar: Saturday, February 25, 2023
Join fellow educators for an afternoon of conversation and reflection on a selection from Herodotus’ Inquiries. This seminar will focus on the famous story of Croesus from the first book of the Inquiries, and consider such questions as “What is it to lead a good life?” and “What counts as happiness?”
This seminar will be led by Zena Hitz, an author and tutor at St. John’s College. Her book, Lost in Thought, is an argument for the importance and beauty of the life of the mind. Her new book, A Philosopher Looks at the Religious Life, is set to be released in 2023.
Online Seminar: Saturday, January 21, 2023
“How I wish that from the most humble log cabin schoolhouse in Alabama we could burn it, as it were, into the hearts and heads of all, that usefulness, service to our brother, is the supreme end of education.” So Booker T. Washington insists in a famous address on “Democracy and Education.” Yet in a chapter from The Souls of Black Folk, entitled “Of the Training of Black Man,” W. E. B. Du Bois offers an equally famous rejoinder. Usefulness comes from a still higher aim, “the end of which is culture.” Beyond even brotherhood we so find “a loftier respect for the sovereign human soul that seeks to know itself and the world about it.”
Which of these great thinkers is right about the end of education? And what difference should American slavery and its aftermath make to the answer?
Online Seminar: Saturday, November 12, 2022
For well over two centuries, “We the People” have been governed under the Constitution of the United States. But what is a constitution, and why do we have or need one? What is the Constitution’s purpose? How should the document be interpreted and by whom? And why should our decisions be guided or constrained by something arguably so dated and so difficult to change? Questions such as these will be considered in the light of readings from a variety of primary sources, including the Constitution itself.
This seminar will be led by Steven A. Steinbach, who teaches history at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC. Mr. Steinbach is a graduate of the Graduate Institute of St. John’s College and editor of With Liberty and Justice for All?: The Constitution in the Classroom (Oxford University Press, 2022).
Participants will read selections from Steven’s books as well as the U.S. Constitution and amendments.
Teachers joining us for our online Saturday seminar will meet from 3 to 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 12, 2022, to discuss the text in a small, interactive class led by St. John’s faculty. The seminar will be followed by a discussion about ways in which what has been learned and discussed might be integrated into your own classrooms.
Online Seminar: Saturday, October 22, 2022
“If we have no aptitude or natural taste for geometry, this does not mean that our faculty of attention will not be developed by wrestling with a problem or studying a theorem. On the contrary it is almost an advantage.” This may sound like a passage from a study-guide for school, but in fact it comes from a peculiar and profound short essay on attention, study, and the relation of both to prayer: Simone Weil’s “Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God.” What does it mean to pay attention? And why should it link what we do in a study like geometry with what we might do in prayer?
Teachers joining us for our online Saturday seminar will meet from 3 to 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 22, 2022, to discuss the text in a small, interactive class led by St. John’s faculty. The seminar will be followed by a discussion about ways in which what has been learned and discussed might be integrated into your own classrooms.
Online Seminar: July 25–28, 2022 Register: Registrations are reviewed on a rolling basis and space is limited.
Join us this summer for a discussion of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Not only does Austen’s classic novel have some of the finest prose in the English language, but it also provides a penetrating exploration of relationships and our place in the world.
Teachers joining us for our online summer seminar will meet each day July 25–28 from 3 to 5 p.m. EDT to discuss the text in a small, interactive class led by St. John’s faculty. There is no cost.
Online Seminar: July 25–28, 2022
This summer join us for a discussion of the classic dialogues Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. These well-known texts will help us explore important questions about piety, justice, and the nature of democracy.
Online Seminar: Saturday, April 23, 2022
While he lived in turbulent times, the Buddhist priest Kenkō met the world with a measured eye. Kenkō took refuge in the pleasures of solitude. Written between 1330 and 1332, Essays in Idleness is a Japanese-Buddhist reflection on life, nature, and philosophy. His brief writings, ranging in focus from politics and ethics to nature and mythology, mark the crystallization of a distinct Japanese principle: that beauty is to be celebrated, though it will ultimately perish. Through his appreciation of the world around him and his keen understanding of historical events, Kenkō conveys the essence of Buddhist philosophy and its subtle teachings for all readers.
Teachers joining us for our online Saturday seminar will meet from 2 until 4 p.m. ET on April 23 to discuss the text in a small, interactive class led by St. John’s faculty. The seminar will be followed by a discussion about ways in which what has been learned and discussed might be integrated into your own classrooms.
Online Seminar: Saturday, November 13, 2021
What does one expect to get out of their education? How would you know whether your education is a good one, if the ultimate purpose of your education remains deeply ambiguous? Return to the foundational questions and ideas of your profession, and explore, along with your peers, what it means to teach and to learn.
Teachers joining us for our online Saturday seminar will meet from 2 until 4 p.m. ET on November 13 to discuss the text in a small, interactive class led by St. John’s faculty. The seminar will be followed by a discussion about ways in which what has been learned and discussed might be integrated into your own classrooms.
Online Seminar: Saturday, December 4, 2021
In the thirteenth century, Zen master Dogen—perhaps the most significant of all Japanese philosophers, and the founder of the Japanese Soto Zen sect—wrote a practical manual of Instructions for the Zen Cook. In drawing parallels between preparing meals for the Zen monastery and spiritual training, he reveals far more than simply the rules and manners of the Zen kitchen; he teaches us how to live.
Teachers joining us for our online Saturday seminar will meet from 2 until 4 p.m. ET on December 4 to discuss the text in a small, interactive class led by St. John’s faculty. The seminar will be followed by a discussion about ways in which what has been learned and discussed might be integrated into your own classrooms.
Online Seminar: Saturday, February 5, 2022
Generally considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a classic of America literature. It is not only one of the most famous slave narratives written during that period, but challenges readers to consider the nature of oppression, ignorance, and the path that leads towards true freedom.
Teachers joining us for our online Saturday seminar will meet from 2 until 4 p.m. ET on February 5 to discuss the text in a small, interactive class led by St. John’s faculty. The seminar will be followed by a discussion about ways in which what has been learned and discussed might be integrated into your own classrooms.
