Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Philosophy

The book I'm in the middle of, Breaking the Spell (see yesterday's post), was written by a philosopher.  Today, I am the philosopher.  My task is to write a one-page statement of my teaching philosophy.

It sounds like a remarkably simple task.  My goal after all is simple, for my students to learn stuff. 

In reality, putting what I do into words is proving incredibly complex.  From day to day, sometimes even moment to moment, my strategies and techniques with students shift.  How do I describe a chameleon?

Dennett says in Breaking the Spell that the job of a philosopher is to ask questions that can't be answered (paraphrase).  I am left wondering how then, one can write a philosophical statement....

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