[MD] 42

[ARLO JAMES BENSINGER JR]

[Dan]
Interesting... from what I understand, what Pirsig did was to actively engage the students in evaluating their own work.

[Arlo]
Before we move any further on this path, Dan, let me ask a question. Given the above, do you think Pirsig's expertise (in content? in pedagogy?) was in any way valuable to the student? Overall, do you think there is a role for an expert/mentor/instructor at all? In the above, it suggests (to me) that motivating/encouraging is the optimal role, so an ideal instructor would be someone who simply says "keep trying" and nothing more. Moreover, as I read your points, it seems to suggest that simply providing libraries or information repositories is a better model than having an expert presence at all. So, let me ask, given your criticisms, what would something better look like?