After submitting a paper (that I thought was particularly well-written) on Albert Camus’s The Stranger, I was shocked to receive the grade of “C,” my first ever, with his comment that I basically raped the author. He taught me that I need to learn to “read.”
One thing he said that I’ve never forgotten in spite of decades now past: “The problem with monotheistic religions is that they have too many Gods.” I always remember him lecturing with his fly open and pee stained trousers.
I believe the course was called “Nature and Religion.” He began the course writing “nature” in some dozen languages on the blackboard starting with Sanskrit, Green, Latin and so on. Then, he did the same with the word, “religion.” It was to illustrate how the origins of the words we’ve come to take for granted could shed some very interesting lights.
@lightsgoout , not clear what you mean. I took the class pass-fail because I felt like being lazy that semester. My learning wasn’t hindered because I learned a lot. Towards the end of the class, I was kicking myself for that choice, but it was too late.
The best professor I ever had was physics professor, John Archibald Wheeler (in the mid 1980’s). This man was a legend in physics having worked on the Manhattan Project and Project Matterhorn. What made him so memorable is that as director of the theoretical physics department, he regularly taught freshman and sophomore physics classes! On the first day of class this elder professor (in his 70’s) walked into the lecture hall of over 200 and worked the room like a rock star.
On the last day of class, he mesmerized us with stories of his work in describing hypothetical “tunnels” in space-time (wormholes) and conversations with greats like Albert Einstein. Then he told us a story that I remember even today. I’m not sure where he got the story from but it went something like this:
A young graduate student, trying to impress his math professor, tells the professor – “But isn’t the sky above us nothing more than a random distribution of points that can be completely described by mathematics?” Whereupon the professor slowly shakes his head, turns, and says, “No, the sky is blue, and birds fly in it”.
For a moment, you could hear a pin drop in that auditorium. Followed by a thunderous standing ovation.
Mine was my freshman Honors Chemistry 115-116 professor (they still have the course today- updated of course and different profs) at UW-Madison back in the early 1970’s. He was a good lecturer and covered far more than the minimum. Exams were blue book and challenging- perhaps one person got a very high score and the next group would get close to 70% scores (had to show work as well). He taught me that there was so much more to learn than just what was expected to get an A in a course as well. We also had to read a then current book and write a one page paper on it each semester- Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and The Double Helix about Watson and Crick. Who knew that was part of a chemistry course! His office was interesting and messy - it included all sorts of stuff from grad students from around the world. His wife became my senior honors thesis advisor- she was a chemist who became a pharmacologist in the medical school. It was the Vietnam War era, Civil Rights movement and Women’s Liberation era, a very different time than now. He was obviously a good fit for the liberal campus and not sexist.
In my freshman year in the early 80’s, my Psych 101 professor wrote “see me” in my class journal one day. When I went to his office, he said one of my journal entries had caught his attention and he wanted to know if everything was ok. I was going through a difficult time being away from home and dealing with a boyfriend who was also away at school and I was venting through my journal. Talking to him really helped me put things into perspective. I didn’t feel alone.
Okay, sorry if my question wasn’t clear. I guess I was just asking why you were kicking yourself for that choice? Because you took the class pass-fail because you wanted to be lazy, but you obviously weren’t lazy because you still learned a lot…anyway, I think I understand what you’re getting at @lindagaf
As you asked about professors, my point is that a good professor can make or break the class. If I were to do it all over again, I would only choose a pass-fail option for a class I might have struggled in, so I guess that was my mistake. I minored in history and have always been interested in it. I should have used pass-fail for some non-major required course.
It’s kind of the old conundrum, why settle for Pass if you’re doing A level work. That’s all (to me.) But she couldn’t have known, in advance, how she’d take to the class.
My abnormal psych prof. He would come into class acting as if he had whatever behavior we would be covering that day in class. Was very entertaining. Most of my professor, tbh, were dry as dust.
I’ll grab any chance to honor the late William Stuntz of Harvard Law School. We lost him way too soon.
Just last week, my husband, a non-lawyer, saw the news about Bob Mueller and asked me what a grand jury is. My mind went straight back to a fall 2000 class and Prof. Stuntz explaining why we have grand juries and why their work is secret. I could remember him saying that back in the middle ages, a grand jury was basically the men in a small town getting together privately and asking, “Anyone seen Joe’s horse?” It’s a holdover from a time when everyone knew each other. You would never design a justice system this way for the world we live in now, but it makes sense when you understand where it came from.
That’s a great teacher. I haven’t needed this information in 15 years, but the minute it came up, I could hear Prof. Stuntz and his lesson.
Robert Resnick of the Resnick and Halliday physics text led my Physics 101 discussion section my first semester at RPI. Brilliant, caring, and very funny. It was pretty much downhill from there.
The most impactful professor I had was a course I took on a lark at SUNY Binghamton taught by Sid Thomas, Professor of Philosophy who taught a variety of courses on religion and history. He was controversial and nearly fired. What he really taught was how to dig down under the information that is presented, how it is presented to make us think and feel a certain way, just how manipulatable the human mind can be. How a lie repeated becomes truth. I have never since looked at a newspaper without thinking about that course.
The late Alan Prince, editorial journalism instructor/professor at the U of Miami. In additional to sharing his love for the written word, he also taught us to respect the profession, respect ourselves, and to understand the press’ Constitutional responsibility to protect our country’s freedom.
Mr. Prince was an editor for The Miami Herald. He told us that he switched to a fresh French-cuffed shirt before class after putting the late edition of the paper to bed, because we were worth it. More importantly, he had us memorize the First Amendment and tested us relentlessly on every word and comma.
Other than my dad I would say George Forgie, an associate history prof at UT Austin. I was in a class of about 300 for American History. He was such an amazing story teller - I couldn’t wait to get to class each time. He made us read a LOT, too. I got one of only a handful of As in the class, and he tried to convince me to switch majors from engineering to history.
I would say George Forgie, an associate history prof at UT Austin. I was in a class of about 300 for American History. He was such an amazing story teller - I couldn’t wait to get to class each time. He made us read a LOT, too. I got one of only a handful of As in the class, and he tried to convince me to switch majors from engineering to history.