What ‘The Odyssey’ Can Teach Us

What—in one word—constitutes the most powerful methodology for teaching and learning in all human experience? Here’s a clue: It’s connected to “The Odyssey.”
What ‘The Odyssey’ Can Teach Us
Bartolomeo Pinelli (1781–1835), "Telemachus Requests Permission from Pluto to Seek His Father in the Underworld," 1809, pen and brown ink with brown and gray wash over graphite on heavy laid paper. William B. O'Neal Fund/National Gallery of Art
James Sale
Updated:

If one were to ask the question, “What—in one word—constitutes the most powerful methodology for teaching and learning in all human experience?”, what would your answer be? If you are having trouble answering that question, here’s a clue: It’s connected to “The Odyssey.”

I do not want to idealize the ancient Greeks too much, or try to suggest it was all a golden age back then, 2,500 years or so ago. Let’s be clear: Some of the Greeks—take the Spartans, for instance—had rather severe ideas of what constituted a real education.

James Sale
James Sale
Author
James Sale has had over 50 books published, most recently, “Mapping Motivation for Top Performing Teams” (Routledge, 2021). He has been nominated for the 2022 poetry Pushcart Prize, and won first prize in The Society of Classical Poets 2017 annual competition, performing in New York in 2019. His most recent poetry collection is “StairWell.” For more information about the author, and about his Dante project, visit EnglishCantos.home.blog
Related Topics