Word: adler
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...know, you are using words that make it impossible for me to answer your question." There is a pause. Adler swivels in his chair, swings both feet in the air and gazes thoughtfully at the ceiling...
Then he asks a question back. "Have you ever told a lie?" "Yeah, sure," admits Garrick, looking a bit sheepish. "It would be better," continues Adler, "to give an example of a lie you told-and I assure you everyone in this room has told a lie." Garrick is on the spot, and the other students know it. They shriek with glee. Garrick hesitates, then blurts out, "Yesterday, we took this poll in school. I said no to a question when I should have said...
...that a lie?" Adler pursues, index finger resting on chin. Then he continues: "Because a lie consists in saying the opposite of what is true. Now let me ask you another question. Have you ever made an erroneous statement?" Jokes Garrick: "I just did when I said 'subjective reality.' " Adler takes the idea a step further. "Let me give you an example of an erroneous statement: There are three mountains on the Eastern Shore of Maryland more than 5,000 feet high." The students laugh at such an absurd notion. Poking the same index finger on the table...
...Watching Adler teach is a bit like watching Itzhak Perlman fiddle or Walter Payton run. No passive observer of the learning process, Adler is a full participant. He punches the air with his fists, bounces up and down in his chair, clasps his hands prayerfully to help students approach comprehension. When a difficult point is finally understood, he laughs with delight. During the discussion of goodness, when a student brings up Aristotle's concept of "right desire," Adler roars with pleasure. "What is really good for you is what you really need!" he shouts, waving his arms. Then...
During a break, Adler can be seen mopping his brow. He is short of breath. "The trick is to get them relaxed," he puffs. "They've got to be taken out of the teacher-student relationship. Every good teacher has to be something...