Teen Socrates Seminar – Winter 2025
The Aspen Institute offers its Teen Socrates Seminar each year to teens between the ages of 15-17 from the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys, and beyond. Students convene to take part in this transformational experience and come away with a new perspective on their lives, their futures, and society.
The three-day seminar is dedicated to enhancing leadership, problem solving, and critical thinking skills for high school students in a setting conducive to thought and fellowship. Students are challenged to think more critically and deeply about their values and ideas, and those that make the good society. Our proven method of text-based dialogue offers participants a neutral forum in which to reflect on timeless human values, pursue common ground, and cultivate a richer understanding of the human condition. Participants emerge from the seminar with a new perspective as they confront the difficult choices of our ever-changing world.
Each seminar convenes a dynamic group of students for lively, intensive roundtable discussions led by expert moderator Allyson Breyfogle. Classic and contemporary texts reflecting the breadth of human civilization form the starting points of a rich conversation in which the questions posed by the group are frequently as illuminating as the varied, timeless wisdom of the texts.
The Aspen Institute is committed to bringing together students with diverse backgrounds and perspectives which adds depth and richness to the dialogue. This program is generously underwritten by the Wall Family Foundation.
Schedule
Saturday, February 15
2:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 16
2:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Monday, February 17
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Fee: $425, includes all sessions, readings, and light refreshments. Scholarships are available for those in need of financial assistance. Register here.
Note: Participants traveling from outside of the Roaring Fork Valley to attend Teen Socrates must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. For the most up-to-date information on registration and more, sign up for our e-newsletter here.