To those interested in my theme of imagination as the home of human life I have recommended the accessible and delightful little book The Educated Imagination by Northrop Frye, arguably the greatest literary critic of the twentieth century. But it is reasonable to ask whether I have any ideas of my own about the relationship of education to the imagination. When you go on the job market in academic, you have to supply a “philosophy of teaching” as part of your application. I always hated this. I think it pressures candidates into babbling abstractions and platitudes that have little to do with the reality of teaching. When we hired, I paid little attention to candidates’ teaching statements: what I watched was what actually went on in the classroom during a teaching observation.
September 17, 2021
September 17, 2021
September 17, 2021
To those interested in my theme of imagination as the home of human life I have recommended the accessible and delightful little book The Educated Imagination by Northrop Frye, arguably the greatest literary critic of the twentieth century. But it is reasonable to ask whether I have any ideas of my own about the relationship of education to the imagination. When you go on the job market in academic, you have to supply a “philosophy of teaching” as part of your application. I always hated this. I think it pressures candidates into babbling abstractions and platitudes that have little to do with the reality of teaching. When we hired, I paid little attention to candidates’ teaching statements: what I watched was what actually went on in the classroom during a teaching observation.