[MD] 42

[Dan Glover]

Andre,

On Tue, Jan 14, 2014 at 3:38 PM, Andre <andrebroersen at gmail.com> wrote:
> Arlo to Dan:
> 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?
>
> Andre:
> Good exchange of ideas Dan an Arlo and forgive me for butting in but (and I
> may have the timelines not quite correct here) but wasn't Phaedrus just as
> much a student of Qualiy as his students were? That is Phaedrus was
> struggling with this whole question of what Quality is and he involved the
> students in the exploration thereof. He was looking for ideas well.
>
> In this sense I think that Phaedrus' expertise in pedagogy was very valuable
> (as a guide) as he was just as interested in the answer as each individual
> student was (and perhaps even more so).
>
> Perhaps I see this in the wrong way?

Hi Andre,

I see it the same way and that was pretty much the gist of my remarks
and the thrust of my questions. It appeared to me that Phaedrus was
learning right along with his class but that did not obviate him from
being the instructor. Quite the contrary... he seemed to motivate his
students in ways they'd never before experienced.

Thank you,

Dan

http://www.danglover.com