Philosophy
Had lunch with an old friend last week. Jerry and I go back a lot of years and we were talking about what surprised us about work. Both of us have worked on the collegiate level, I as a teacher and Jerry as a volleyball coach, and we were both amazed at kids who come back years later and tell you how much of an influence you were. You go to work and you have a good time, you do your job, some days you are on your game, while other days you just phone it in. Yet, through it all, you don't realize how much what you do, day to day, effects others. It's humbling, exciting, strange, and sometimes frightening to think that your goofing off in the classroom is having real effects.
It is never clearer than with science students. Whenever I have students come to me and tell me they want to major in the sciences, I ask, "Who was the really cool teacher who got you hooked on physics/chem/bio/math?" and invariably there is one.
For me, I believe that my lot as a philosopher of science was set by five people: my father who watched endless episodes of NOVA with me; my mother who would always say, "Because Y is a crooked letter" making me crazy enough that I was going to find out why, damn it; my high school English teacher Bill Endres who encouraged me to read and think in new ways; and my undergrad advisors Barbara Horan and Roye Templeton who showed me the beauty and power of philosophy.
Who changed your path but might not know it?
- How Early Should We Teach Philosophy?
I'm writing up a piece with the middle school teacher who invited me into her classroom for the last two years -- last year for a weekly logic/critical thinking module and this year's focusing on ethics and metaphysics. It has me thinking about...
- The Teacher-former Student Relationship
Having lunch today with some former students who were back for Homecoming Weekend. Good, smart, funny alums who always seem to need recommendations for amazing things they are going on to do. The student-teacher relationship is itself a complex one. How...
- What Makes A Great Teacher?
When I'm on a plane chatting and the person next to me finds out that I teach philosophy, the reaction is either, "I took that in college and hated it" or "I took that in college and had the strangest teacher." When I get the second one, inevitably...
- Is There Final Exam Week In The "real World"?
As someone who has never left the cozy confines of academia since my days before Tom and Jerry nursery school (it was much better on the days you got to be Jerry), I am curious whether there is the equivalent to finals week out there. Every student you...
- A Career Of Teaching Chemistry...jim Baker
Jim Baker 1976 He reminds me of James Hilton's Mr. Chips...a dedicated teacher over the decades. "Teaching chemistry is my career and my hobby" Jim Baker went into teaching because he enjoyed passing on his knowledge. After 42 years, despite how...
Philosophy
Unsung Heroes: Who Influenced You and Might Not Know It?
Had lunch with an old friend last week. Jerry and I go back a lot of years and we were talking about what surprised us about work. Both of us have worked on the collegiate level, I as a teacher and Jerry as a volleyball coach, and we were both amazed at kids who come back years later and tell you how much of an influence you were. You go to work and you have a good time, you do your job, some days you are on your game, while other days you just phone it in. Yet, through it all, you don't realize how much what you do, day to day, effects others. It's humbling, exciting, strange, and sometimes frightening to think that your goofing off in the classroom is having real effects.
It is never clearer than with science students. Whenever I have students come to me and tell me they want to major in the sciences, I ask, "Who was the really cool teacher who got you hooked on physics/chem/bio/math?" and invariably there is one.
For me, I believe that my lot as a philosopher of science was set by five people: my father who watched endless episodes of NOVA with me; my mother who would always say, "Because Y is a crooked letter" making me crazy enough that I was going to find out why, damn it; my high school English teacher Bill Endres who encouraged me to read and think in new ways; and my undergrad advisors Barbara Horan and Roye Templeton who showed me the beauty and power of philosophy.
Who changed your path but might not know it?
- How Early Should We Teach Philosophy?
I'm writing up a piece with the middle school teacher who invited me into her classroom for the last two years -- last year for a weekly logic/critical thinking module and this year's focusing on ethics and metaphysics. It has me thinking about...
- The Teacher-former Student Relationship
Having lunch today with some former students who were back for Homecoming Weekend. Good, smart, funny alums who always seem to need recommendations for amazing things they are going on to do. The student-teacher relationship is itself a complex one. How...
- What Makes A Great Teacher?
When I'm on a plane chatting and the person next to me finds out that I teach philosophy, the reaction is either, "I took that in college and hated it" or "I took that in college and had the strangest teacher." When I get the second one, inevitably...
- Is There Final Exam Week In The "real World"?
As someone who has never left the cozy confines of academia since my days before Tom and Jerry nursery school (it was much better on the days you got to be Jerry), I am curious whether there is the equivalent to finals week out there. Every student you...
- A Career Of Teaching Chemistry...jim Baker
Jim Baker 1976 He reminds me of James Hilton's Mr. Chips...a dedicated teacher over the decades. "Teaching chemistry is my career and my hobby" Jim Baker went into teaching because he enjoyed passing on his knowledge. After 42 years, despite how...