National Paideia Center

National Paideia Center Helping teachers inspire critical thinking & civil dialogue. Think. Discuss. Act. Helping teachers lead students in critical thinking and civil dialogue.

Empowering lifelong learners through dialogue, deep reading & civic engagement.
📍 Asheville, NC | 🌐 paideia.org

📚✨ National Paideia Seminar Day is October 1! ✨📚Let’s celebrate the power of meaningful dialogue, thoughtful questions, ...
09/23/2026

📚✨ National Paideia Seminar Day is October 1! ✨📚

Let’s celebrate the power of meaningful dialogue, thoughtful questions, and student voice.

On October 1, join educators and students across the country for Seminar Day—a day dedicated to coming together, thinking deeply, discussing ideas, and learning from one another.

Bring your students together for a Paideia Seminar and make space for curiosity, connection, and conversation.

Think. Discuss. Act.

📚✨ National Paideia Day is October 1! ✨📚Let’s celebrate the power of meaningful dialogue, thoughtful questions, and stud...
09/23/2026

📚✨ National Paideia Day is October 1! ✨📚

Let’s celebrate the power of meaningful dialogue, thoughtful questions, and student voice.

On October 1, join educators and students across the country for Seminar Day—a day dedicated to coming together, thinking deeply, discussing ideas, and learning from one another.

Bring your students together for a Paideia Seminar and make space for curiosity, connection, and conversation.

Think. Discuss. Act.

✨ GREAT IDEA OF THE WEEK: HONOR ✨What does it mean to live a life of honor?This week, we’re exploring Honor—a Great Idea...
09/19/2026

✨ GREAT IDEA OF THE WEEK: HONOR ✨
What does it mean to live a life of honor?
This week, we’re exploring Honor—a Great Idea that invites us to think deeply about character, integrity, responsibility, and the choices we make every day.
Honor isn’t simply about recognition from others. It challenges us to consider who we are, what we value, and how our choices reflect those values.
💭 Let’s Think:
What makes someone honorable?
Is honor something we earn, something we give, or both?
Can you act honorably even when no one is watching?
🗣️ Take It to Seminar:
Is a person honorable because of what they accomplish, or because of how they choose to live?
At The National Paideia Center, we believe great ideas become meaningful when students have the opportunity to think deeply, discuss openly, and connect ideas to their own lives.
Think. Discuss. Act.

09/14/2026

Week two Great Idea of the week: History

Why do we study history: to understand the world, to find ourselves, both, or something else entirely?

This week’s great idea is History. What is history, really? Not just what happened.

Mortimer Adler, in his Great Ideas, reminds us that in its original Greek, the word “history” means research. Not memorization. Investigation.

To study history, then, is to judge evidence, weigh testimony, and separate fact from fiction. It is an act of discernment, not recitation.

This is why we do not hand students conclusions. We hand them sources, and we ask them to seek the truth themselves.

History is a great idea because it asks us to search!

Fall Into Paideia 🍂Ready to bring more meaningful dialogue, thoughtful discussion, and student-centered learning into yo...
08/17/2026

Fall Into Paideia 🍂

Ready to bring more meaningful dialogue, thoughtful discussion, and student-centered learning into your classroom?

Join the National Paideia Center for our Fall 2026 Institute in Raleigh, NC, on September 28–29 at Brooks Museum Magnet School.
Over two days, educators will:
🌿 Experience Paideia in action
💬 Learn practical strategies for richer discussion
🤝 Collaborate with fellow educators
💡 Leave ready to bring Paideia into everyday instruction

Registration: $650 per person or $2,000 for a team of four.

Come collaborate. Come grow. Come experience Paideia in action.

📍 Brooks Museum Magnet School | Raleigh, NC
📅 September 28–29, 2026
Think. Discuss. Act.

08/11/2026

📚 Looking for a meaningful back-to-school text?

The Circles All Around Us by Brad Montague is a beautiful way to help students think about belonging, relationships, community, and making room for others as they begin a new school year.

And you don’t have to create the seminar plan yourself! 🎉 We’ve already created a ready-to-use seminar plan for this text to help you facilitate thoughtful, student-centered discussion with your students.

Explore our Seminar Plan Collection to find this text and many others ready to bring meaningful dialogue into your classroom.

🔗 Access the Seminar Plan Collection through the link in our bio!

Here’s to a wonderful 2026–2027 school year filled with connection, conversation, and learning. 📖💬

Fill in the blank:The most important thing I do during the first week of school is __________.We'd love to hear your ide...
08/05/2026

Fill in the blank:
The most important thing I do during the first week of school is __________.

We'd love to hear your ideas! Share them in the comments, then check out our latest blog for more discussion-centered strategies.

Link to blog: https://paideia.org/blogs/npc/start-the-year-with-dialogue

06/23/2026

What is the Summer Institute? It's the fastest way to strengthen seminar instruction before the school year begins.

Join us July 23–24 in Asheville, NC for two days of live model seminars, coaching, planning time, and practical strategies you can use on day one.

Whether you're new to Paideia or refining an established program, you'll leave with:
• Ready-to-use seminar plans
• Facilitation moves that increase student participation
• Tools for coaching discussion and writing
• A network of educators doing this work alongside you

Seats are limited, and we're finalizing materials soon.
Register now: paideia.org

06/08/2026

📚 June at The National Paideia Center
This month we're celebrating school achievements, preparing for Summer Institute 2026, unveiling improvements to the Seminar Plan Collection, and sharing a preview of an exciting new classroom resource.

We're also grateful to everyone supporting our Forward Together campaign—we've reached 22% of our goal!

Learn more and stay connected at Paideia.org.

Address

67 Broadway Street Suite 218
Asheville, NC
28801

Telephone

+18285755592

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