We bring the Sapere Aude talks and workshops, Ferran Teixes’s applied-humanism project, to schools. Many schools already know us from our STEAM camps in Boston and Barcelona.
The classics as conversation partners, not exam material. Each session starts from a question pupils already ask themselves, gets them taking part rather than just listening, and ends with a concrete habit that teachers can pick up again in class.
90-minute workshops and a 45-minute talk, with plenty of play and little lecturing.
Behind every great invention there is a question. From the Greeks who wondered what the world is made of to the science of today, pupils learn to ask good questions, as scientists and philosophers do.
They take away: the question ladder: for every question, climb one more step.
Epicurus taught in a garden and Montaigne wrote surrounded by sayings painted on his ceiling beams. Pupils create their own garden of sayings from sages of every age, then add one of their own.
They take away: a new saying in the class garden every week.
Three sages, three objects and three questions young people already ask: Socrates and the mirror (how do I know what is right?), Seneca and the hourglass (why are we always in a hurry?), Montaigne and the notebook (who do I want to be, and with whom?). More play at primary level; more debate at secondary.
They take away: a question to put to one of the three sages.
Socrates did not give answers; he asked questions. Pupils learn to tell a question that closes from one that opens, and practise Socratic dialogue with everyday dilemmas.
They take away: before answering, ask one more question.
Talks, workshops and lectures of 45 to 60 minutes, the length of a lesson.
Seneca warned that life is not short; we waste it. How apps are built to capture attention and what we can do about it, with an experiment in uninterrupted reading.
They take away: an attention pact with one of three small habits, reviewed after three weeks.
Intelligence is also grown through small daily habits. Six analogue habits for protecting attention and managing screens, each paired with a classic thinker who already practised it; every pupil picks one and turns it into an experiment.
They take away: a three-week experiment, logged on paper.
If the machine knows everything, what is left for us? Judgement, context, ethics and imagination. Aristotle’s practical wisdom meets three real AI dilemmas, which the class votes on and argues in teams.
They take away: a question about AI to investigate on their own.
Kant’s ‘Sapere aude!’ applied to the chatbot that answers everything: when AI helps us and when it thinks for us, and how to spot errors and bias in its answers.
They take away: four questions to check before believing or sharing.
Enlightenment thinkers read, took notes and conversed as a method. Three classic tools for studying better and in less of a hurry (the commonplace book, slow reading and conversation), with a 30-day challenge supported by the form tutor.
They take away: their own commonplace book and a 30-day challenge.
Amid anxiety about AI and future jobs, asking good questions, writing by hand and reading in depth still make the difference in an exam, a job interview and life. A practical talk for large groups in which pupils try out each tool during the session itself.
They take away: a one-week challenge with the three tools.
Seminars and debates of 55 to 90 minutes, with more argument.
In every age, daring to think has been an act of courage. What it means today, facing AI and social media, with a closing debate on the motion ‘AI makes us freer’. Helps pupils find topics for their research projects.
They take away: ideas for their research project topic.
From Descartes to Hume and Kant: how the Enlightenment invented a method for separating knowledge from opinion, and why, with AI, it is more necessary than ever. Works well as a guest session in Theory of Knowledge, or as a three-session series.
They take away: knowledge questions for their own work.
An ongoing presence throughout the school year, coordinated by us at Future Explorers: one pathway per stage with a session each term, teacher follow-up between sessions and a closing meeting with families.
We are your point of contact: relationship with the school, calendar, logistics and continuity throughout the year. Sapere Aude’s humanities complement our STEAM programmes.
Talks, workshops and materials grounded in the classics and the Enlightenment: thinking before deciding, learning how to learn, caring for attention. Designed and delivered by Ferran Teixes.
More about Sapere Aude at ferranteixes.com →Ferran Teixes founded Future Explorers and writes Sapere Aude: both brands share one idea, preparing young people for the future without losing the legacy that makes us human.
To arrange a talk, a workshop or the programme at your school, write to us: