26 November 2011

In two minds

I've just spent some time jointly preparing a history of art lecture. The other person involved chose the subject, decided the direction and thrust of the message to be carried, and will be doing the delivery, but is new to teaching. My responsibility, therefore, was to provide nuts and bolts experience in the construction and management of somebody else's vision, without getting in its way.

It was a richly, surprisingly, and thought provokingly educational experience for me. The approach and material selection differed, in several respects, from those which I would myself have followed. Both from this difference in itself and from my own necessary introspection in ensuring that I didn't pollute it, came a continuous and multidimensional process of self examination. Some of my own views changed, some were reaffirmed, others broadened or refined.

Immensely valuable.

2 comments:

Julie Heyward said...

I hope you're concentrating on "of" because those other two words wouldn't take up enough time -- one would be left twiddling one's thumbs for the remaining 55 minutes of the lecture time.

Felix said...

In this case, the remaining 115 minutes! :-)

A lecture on "of" ... again I say "hmmm..."!

I feel a 120 minute mantra coming on: "Of mani padmi hmmm..."