Amen from the heathen corner over here. REH
----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Straker" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 12:33 PM Subject: Re: [Futurework] And now for something completely different: A recently deceased emperor's new clothes > Brad: > > I had a sort of similar instance. I had a philosophy > > teacher who thought I was "puerile". On one assignment -- > > the only time I ever tried such a think in > > my whole schooling --, I wrote a paper which > > I did not believe in at all, but which I thought > > the teacher would like. The grad asst gave me a 96. > > The teacher, Sterling Professor of Philosophy Paul Weiss, > > scratched out the 96 and replaced it with a 97. > > > > No, I think what was going on with Alexander is that > > the teacher didn't have a clue as to what anything > > meant, but he was adept at playing the game that had > > got him his Professorship. So he could not tell > > a serious spoof (not some fraternity prank!) from > > something real. To borrow LeCorbusier's words, > > he had eyes but saw not and ears but did not hear. > > As one who has carefully evaluated a gazillion undergraduate > essays, I ask: > > Why do you suppose a paper can't be any good unless you > "believe in it"? > > It seems to me more likely that the stuff you really > believed in at the time WAS puerile, whereas the paper you > thought Paul Weiss would like was judged to be very good > because Weiss (and his grad student) had a good idea of what > decent philosophical writing looked like ... As did you, > obviously, except you didn't believe in it. > > This seems a more likely account of what happened than your > account which requires the grad student to be a chump and > Paul Weiss a lazy pandering jerk. > > Stephen Straker > Vancouver, B.C. > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
