Design_L,
(re: design teaching notes)
I believe I learned an essential lesson about teaching today. One of my
students who has a nice personality and cares enough for me to guilt him
into giving it his best, came to me at the end of this last day of the
semester and thanked me. I looked at him with some surprise because I only
remember giving this poor fella a very hard time about his design. He was
really struggling but I was relentless as with all the others too. I wanted
the whole class to do well. Those who lagged behind became targets of
antics designed for awakening. Anyway, this student said that he wanted to
thank me for pushing him, because his father had died some weeks ago in
Nigeria; shot six times, a victim during an armed robbery. I turned to him
in shock and asked him why he didn't indicate to me that he had a death in
the family and well, maybe I would have let off a bit, knowing that he had
a reason to be in the fog he was usually in, slumped as he usually was in
front of the terminal. He just kept his huge smile and said, "No, you
pushed me when I was just going to quit." He went on, "I wondered to
myself, why does this teacher push me when he really doesn't have to, and
that kept me going." And well, this student did do the best work I'd seen
all semester- for him. I found myself flushed at the funny reversal of
control given by his understanding of the situation; his reality being much
larger than mine.
What I learned was that he kept on because I managed to give him some
insight into that uncanny moment when there is no apparent reason to
continue or to want to do well and there, a space opens up, a very human
space. One that can only be filled and fulfilled with the desire to be
more than what one is, to go beyond oneself and to discover something.
Well anyway, my explanations obviously pale to this very unusual moment in
my experience in the Newark ghetto. But today, this student, who I didn't
think would do too well, had really taught me something special about
architecture.
thanks P.
spN
------
(re: design teaching notes)
I believe I learned an essential lesson about teaching today. One of my
students who has a nice personality and cares enough for me to guilt him
into giving it his best, came to me at the end of this last day of the
semester and thanked me. I looked at him with some surprise because I only
remember giving this poor fella a very hard time about his design. He was
really struggling but I was relentless as with all the others too. I wanted
the whole class to do well. Those who lagged behind became targets of
antics designed for awakening. Anyway, this student said that he wanted to
thank me for pushing him, because his father had died some weeks ago in
Nigeria; shot six times, a victim during an armed robbery. I turned to him
in shock and asked him why he didn't indicate to me that he had a death in
the family and well, maybe I would have let off a bit, knowing that he had
a reason to be in the fog he was usually in, slumped as he usually was in
front of the terminal. He just kept his huge smile and said, "No, you
pushed me when I was just going to quit." He went on, "I wondered to
myself, why does this teacher push me when he really doesn't have to, and
that kept me going." And well, this student did do the best work I'd seen
all semester- for him. I found myself flushed at the funny reversal of
control given by his understanding of the situation; his reality being much
larger than mine.
What I learned was that he kept on because I managed to give him some
insight into that uncanny moment when there is no apparent reason to
continue or to want to do well and there, a space opens up, a very human
space. One that can only be filled and fulfilled with the desire to be
more than what one is, to go beyond oneself and to discover something.
Well anyway, my explanations obviously pale to this very unusual moment in
my experience in the Newark ghetto. But today, this student, who I didn't
think would do too well, had really taught me something special about
architecture.
thanks P.
spN
------