Comments on: My Op-ed piece in today’s paper http://www.bigbencomedy.com/blog/archives/stamford-advocate-op-ed/ Blogging from the Stand Up Trenches Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:26:48 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Alan http://www.bigbencomedy.com/blog/archives/stamford-advocate-op-ed/comment-page-1/#comment-776 Alan Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:29:43 +0000 http://www.bigbencomedy.com/blog/?p=1749#comment-776 Interesting op-ed, but I think closing paragraphs miss the point. You said that you had zero interest in philosophy, until you took a philosophy class. If you didn't have any experience with philosophy prior to that class, you would not have any idea whether or not philosophy would interest you. However, you also say that you never enjoyed math or science (hard sciences like biology, chemistry and physics), so it's clear that you did have prior experience with that. This would lead me to the conclusion that it's important to experience a wide variety of topic material, so we can figure out what we like, not that it is important for teachers to make a subject more interesting. While it may be true that if a teacher makes a topic more "interesting" (whatever that means), students may become more engaged in the topic, the teacher may not be the main driver of student interest. To add an anecdote of my own, I always enjoyed math and science, but there were many of my fellow students, who were in the same classes as I was, who did not share my interest. Is it the fault of the teacher, who may have no catered to every person's individual interest? Or, is it because each individual has interests based on their prior experiences (which I admit, teachers may be a part of). I'd venture a guess that the people we look up to have a greater impact on what our interests are, than how a teacher may have taught us. The child who knows how to calculate a baseball player's batting average probably does so because he wants to know how his favorite player is doing, or because his parents love baseball and he wants to be just like them. Maybe if we want to have more mathematicians and scientists, we have to make current mathematicians and scientists have more children? Interesting op-ed, but I think closing paragraphs miss the point. You said that you had zero interest in philosophy, until you took a philosophy class. If you didn’t have any experience with philosophy prior to that class, you would not have any idea whether or not philosophy would interest you. However, you also say that you never enjoyed math or science (hard sciences like biology, chemistry and physics), so it’s clear that you did have prior experience with that. This would lead me to the conclusion that it’s important to experience a wide variety of topic material, so we can figure out what we like, not that it is important for teachers to make a subject more interesting.

While it may be true that if a teacher makes a topic more “interesting” (whatever that means), students may become more engaged in the topic, the teacher may not be the main driver of student interest.

To add an anecdote of my own, I always enjoyed math and science, but there were many of my fellow students, who were in the same classes as I was, who did not share my interest. Is it the fault of the teacher, who may have no catered to every person’s individual interest? Or, is it because each individual has interests based on their prior experiences (which I admit, teachers may be a part of).

I’d venture a guess that the people we look up to have a greater impact on what our interests are, than how a teacher may have taught us. The child who knows how to calculate a baseball player’s batting average probably does so because he wants to know how his favorite player is doing, or because his parents love baseball and he wants to be just like them. Maybe if we want to have more mathematicians and scientists, we have to make current mathematicians and scientists have more children?

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