[MD] 42

[John Carl]

Arlo,



On Tue, Jan 14, 2014 at 12:01 PM, ARLO JAMES BENSINGER JR <ajb102 at psu.edu>wrote:

> [John]
> The ideal instructor is the one who is part of the class - learning with
> them.
>
> [Arlo]
> Okay, this is a fairly part of educational reform literature. Are there
> any criteria, as you see it, that distinguishes an instructor from the
> students? Or could we, in effect, randomly select a student from a class
> and designate that student as 'the instructor'? Was there any other
> value-add that Pirsig brought to the classroom other than as a 'motivator'
> and 'co-learner'? Did the students benefit from his presence? Would they
> have benefited equally, or better, without his being there?
>

J:  Well as I mentioned to dmb, I wasn't speaking from literature, I was
speaking from personal experience but to answer your question, of course
the teacher is the leader of this little community and everybody looks up
to him - that is, gives  the teacher the energy.  It's the way this teacher
handles that gift, that often makes a real difference in the teaching
process.  Does the teacher want the affirmation of the class for his own
purposes?  Or is she willing to share that spotlight in a mutual trust and
endeavor with others?  I think that's the crux of matter.  At least as I'm
best able to express at the moment.

A:


>
> For what its worth, most graduate level courses are set up around the
> model of the professor as a co-investigator.


J:  Yeah, upon reflection today I had the thought that a lot of primary
education is set up to separate the wheat and the tares.  And those who
aren't satisfied with the rote education of the younger years are primed
for the graduate level later on.  So good point there.

 [Arlo]

> Your two comments here, by the way, are described by educational theorists
> as the "guide on the side" (above) and the "sage on the stage" (speaking
> down to you like you're an idiot). Although even the most ardent
> "lecturists" would likely (publicly) renounce those who treat their
> students like idiots, I think from experience we can safely say that the
> more "sage-like" any speaker feels, the more inclined they are to speak as
> if his audience is 'idiots'.
>
>
J:  heh.  too true.  I've gotten along with most of my teachers throughout
my career and I can tell one thing Arlo, I'd enjoy your classes for sure.



> [John]
> It's somebody who is so interested in  his subject that his interest is
> catching.
>
> [Arlo]
> Sadly, I always wonder why ALL teachers aren't like this. Skill levels,
> knowledge of pedagogy, classroom strategies, etc. aside, you think that
> passionate interest in the subject at hand would be an easy norm among
> teachers. But, in fairness, all too often teachers are 'assigned' courses
> (typically undergraduate at the college level, which creates even larger
> problems) they lack both interest and expertise in teaching. This is a part
> of the current model (related to economic decisions, mostly) that I think
> must be addressed.
>
>
J:  I agree.  Most teachers got into the profession BECAUSE they were
passionate about a subject.  It's the system that wears them down.  If we
could come up with a better system, i think it'd free both teachers and
students.

Thanks as always Arlo,

John