QotD, musings

[drwex]

This passed across my screen today:

The primary task of a useful teacher is to teach his students to recognize 'inconvenient' facts

The speaker is Max Weber, turn-of-the(last)-century German sociologist and economist. If you don't understand why America is so materialistic you haven't read enough Weber.

I think the quote applies outside of teaching. It's kind of a nice summation of much of how I look at life.

Much elided here. Need thinking. Commentary welcome.

Comments

[taura-g.livejournal.com]

Well, it is a bit egotistical if you are going to assume that you will always be in the role of "teacher". But most of us play both roles at one time or another in our lives. If you believe one of the purposes of life is learning than one corollary of that is that one is always a student, yes?

And yes, I was speaking in the realms of my own beliefs as well (don't we always?). And I am the last person to say that my beliefs are the only right ones.