[MD] 42

[John Carl]

Hi Arlo, Dan,

On Tue, Jan 14, 2014 at 8:47 AM, ARLO JAMES BENSINGER JR <ajb102 at psu.edu>wrote:

> [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.



J:  The ideal instructor is the one who is part of the class - learning
with them.  Remember in ZAMM when somebody stuck their head in the class
because of the hubbub and Pirsig goes " we  stumbled upon a hard question"
WE.  It's not some talking head always speaking down to you like you're an
idiot.  It's somebody who is so interested in  his subject that his
interest is catching.

A:

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?
>
>
J:  I know that was aimed at Dan, but I'd been thinking Arlo... a lot of
the necessity of the academy and academics was in the storage and
communication of the classics and a certain way of thinking.  A lot of
their utility is being threatened by google.  It used to be, "ask an
academic" if you had a hard question.  Now it's "google it" and it's a
foreboding for the future.

John