It’s good to get a bit of unexpected cheer in these times when there is so much dreary news around. A few moments ago I had such a moment of unexpected joy. Almost by accident I came across Professor Richard Wagner’s statement about his teaching philosophy. For those of you in despair about what is happening in Higher Education go and read the whole thing here. As a taster here is his conclusion:
“Some of you might have seen the television show on Bravo, Inside the Actors Studio, hosted by James Lipton. Toward the end of the show, Lipton asks each guest the same few questions. One of the questions runs something like “what word or sound do you hate.” Another question runs something like “what word or sound do you love.” If I were asked what sound I hate, I would answer “the sound of a student asking ‘will this be on the exam?'” If I were asked what sound I love, I would answer “the sound of a student asking ‘here’s an idea I think I might be able to do something with, what do you think?'””
Give this man a medal.