One of Sidney Hook’s great teachers was Morris R. Cohen, professor of philosophy from 1912 to 1938 at CCNY. In an essay on Cohen, Hook gave the measure of influential teaching:
What makes a great teacher? I believe it is the ability to inspire in students a dedication to the subject of instruction. The dedication may be expressed either in active pursuit of the discipline or in an appreciation of its results. When we look back on our schooling, we remember teachers rather than courses - we remember their manner and method, their enthusiasm and intellectual excitement, and their capacity to arouse delight in, or curiosity about, the subject taught. Different teachers affect different students in different ways. But when students have been reached by their teacher, the response is the same - respect, admiration, and a desire to win approval. Sometimes a teacher’s influence is strong enough to override that of parents and peers. (Quoted from “Morris R. Cohen – Fifty Years Later,” by Sidney Hook. The American Scholar, Summer 1976, Vol. 45, Num. 3.)
For a brief biography of Morris R. Cohen, click here. For a brief biography of Sidney Hook, click here.
Comments