Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George F Somsel <gfsomsel AT juno.com>]

> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Read, James C" <K0434995 AT kingston.ac.uk>
> > 
> > George wrote
> > James has provided absolutely nothing so my judgment that his 
> claim is
> > "baloney" still stands.
> > 
> > JCR: I see that I still stand on your judgement seat. Allow me to 
> illustrate
> > the process of graduating at St. Andrews. In order to graduate the 
> hebrew
> > half of my degree I had to sit through a module named OT something 
> or other.
> > The lecturer was new and could hardly speak a word of English. He 
> would come
> > to lectures and from the moment he started lecturing his head 
> would not raise
> > from his notes until he had finished rambling at us in a language 
> which could
> > only be described as Germglish. Needless to say the lectures were 
> enthralling
> > for those who needed German aural practice.
> > 
> > At the end of the term we were handed three pieces of paper. The 
> first was a
> > copy of the exam paper (hmmmm?). The second was the lecturer's 
> Germglish model
> > answers to the exam questions (ahhhh!) And the third was a 
> questionnaire about
> > the module. We were instructed to memorise the model answers and 
> to reproduce
> > them in the exam. The lecturer, whose name it is perhaps better I 
> 
> > don't mention, had
> > immediately gone from zero to hero. After three months of 
> everybody 
> > complaining
> > that they couldn't understand a word he was saying they were all 
> > now writing what
> > an excellent teacher he was and how St. Andrews should have more 
> > lecturers like
> > him.
> > 
> > Conclusion: The choice was simple. Either you memorised his 
> > opinions and reproduced
> > them in the exam or you risked failing by showing that you had 
> > studied the sources
> > and been capable of formulating your own opinion.
> > 
> > P.S. All those who wrote his model answers got A's (including the 
> 
> > ones who has been
> > absent from lectures because they couldn't understand a word he 
> was saying)
______________

James,

I can see that this would be somewhat irritating, but I still fail to see
that you needed to avoid his class in order to maintain your integrity. 
Apparently he was requiring that you show that you understood his
position.  This can be done without compromising your integrity.  How
does indicating that you understood his position compromise you in any
way.  I hardly think that you were expected to get up and lead a cheer
for his opinions -- only to understand them and be able to reproduce
them.  He may not have been your favorite instructor (and I can most
probably assure you that he wouldn't have been mine), but that is another
matter.

george
gfsomsel
___________