April 14, 2025
Learning by Osmosis
Timothy Birdnow
Joe Biden must be a genius...
According to Scientists, Zoning Out Could Actually Help You Learn
When I was in high school I attended a Jesuit academy and one of my math teachers was a very old school Jusuit, robed in full cassock rather than the hipster black pants and shirts of the others. He was something of a freak of nature but we all loved him just the same. He kept his hair crwecut-short. He would draw a perfect circle on the blackboard by hanging his hand down and just flipping it. He made us write AMDG on the upper right corner of all assignments - Ad Mundi Dei Gloria, to the Greater Glory of God.Turn in a particularly bad assignment and he would publicly tear the AMDG off! But the guy always was humorous in a dry way.
At any rate he moved me to the front of the class after I blew a test (math was my least favorite subject) and one day he caught me "zoning out" and announced to everyone I had devised a new learning technique using osmosis. Everyone laughed, including me (he was never mean).
I wish I'd see him again to tell him about this; it's clear I was a pioneer in the field of education.
I am sure he's long gone now so I will never get to tell him, alas.
Joe Biden must be a genius...
According to Scientists, Zoning Out Could Actually Help You Learn
When I was in high school I attended a Jesuit academy and one of my math teachers was a very old school Jusuit, robed in full cassock rather than the hipster black pants and shirts of the others. He was something of a freak of nature but we all loved him just the same. He kept his hair crwecut-short. He would draw a perfect circle on the blackboard by hanging his hand down and just flipping it. He made us write AMDG on the upper right corner of all assignments - Ad Mundi Dei Gloria, to the Greater Glory of God.Turn in a particularly bad assignment and he would publicly tear the AMDG off! But the guy always was humorous in a dry way.
At any rate he moved me to the front of the class after I blew a test (math was my least favorite subject) and one day he caught me "zoning out" and announced to everyone I had devised a new learning technique using osmosis. Everyone laughed, including me (he was never mean).
I wish I'd see him again to tell him about this; it's clear I was a pioneer in the field of education.
I am sure he's long gone now so I will never get to tell him, alas.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
07:33 AM
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1
I had a Jesuit instructor once. Don't remember the school, circumstances or year, but the subject was philosophy. I got into a discussion with him in which i posited that man could not know the answer to a certain question. His position was, of course, that Jesuits know all the answers, so he kept giving me answers to that question and I kept disproving them. I met him after class one day to apologize for my intransigence, and he said no apology was needed - that he was thoroughly enjoying our discussion.
Posted by: Bill H] at April 14, 2025 10:28 AM (Q7br2)
2
That's the mark of a true teacher, Bill; one who truly loves teaching. I had an American History professor who was like that when I was a senior in college. In our discussion groups this fellow would always play the devil's advocate on any subject we were dealing with, and remind us ahead of time that he was going to do it. If the subject had any political overtones, he'd do the same. We never had any idea what his actual politics were. This was in 1963-4. I really think he would have felt he was cheating us if he'd let his personal political views get out. What a difference from today!
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at April 15, 2025 12:51 AM (rDOKo)
3
That is very much a typical Jesuit, at least an old school one Bill. Yeah; they like someone to argue with because that enlivens the class and engages everyone.You'd get a better grade if you did, even if you argued incorrectly. They prefer an engaged student to an uninvolved one (that was me in a nutshell, that last.)
Dana's right; it's t mark of a good teacher.
Dana's right; it's t mark of a good teacher.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at April 15, 2025 06:53 AM (AauBe)
4
Yes. I should have added that he was a lovely man, and that being in his class was the the most enjoyable time I ever spent in school.
Posted by: Bill H] at April 15, 2025 09:26 AM (Q7br2)
5
Same thing with my Am. Hist. prof, though he was a Jew, not a Jesuit. We had a large section of students, and three professors took turns with the lectures. Two of them put us to sleep, but the professor I referred to often earned applause for his lectures. I always felt that I was lucky to have drawn him for the discussion groups.
He used to say that the only reason to study history was to gain a sense of perspective, and if he encountered you in the hallway he'd stop you and ask you if you were gaining a sense of perspective. I dearly wish I could encounter him today and tell him how much I still love history.
He used to say that the only reason to study history was to gain a sense of perspective, and if he encountered you in the hallway he'd stop you and ask you if you were gaining a sense of perspective. I dearly wish I could encounter him today and tell him how much I still love history.
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at April 15, 2025 10:40 PM (rDOKo)
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