Stanley Rabinowitz, “Reflections on Teaching”
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n Thursday, March 21 2019, Professor Stanley Rabinowitz sat down with Jyl Gentzler, Professor of Philosophy, to engage in a reflective conversation on his approach to teaching at Amherst, in the company of students, staff, faculty, and friends. Prior to coming to Amherst in 1973, Stanley lived in the Mather House at Harvard, where he conducted tutorial sections with undergraduate students. He said that this early formative experience proved quite helpful to his thinking about teaching when he arrived at Amherst. When asked about his approach to teaching, Stanley also mentioned how the teaching of language has influenced his teaching in other domains. “When you are teaching language,” he said, “you are teaching basic things. What does it mean to learn? What motivates you to go on?” And the teaching of those skills, he stated, has influenced his teaching in other domains, including Russian literature.
In his talk, Stanley spoke of the joys of being at a small college and the ability to connect with and teach with people in very different departments and disciplines. He mentioned co-teaching a course on ethics with Professor Griffiths, and his ongoing collaborations with Professor Joe Epstein, who once told him, “You know, Stanley, I don’t teach Philosophy. I teach students Philosophy.” It is these interactions and conversations that Stanley pointed to as influential in shaping his own teaching approach.
It was clear throughout the discussion how rewarding it is to Stanley to watch students grow and mature. Stanley spoke of the enjoyment he experienced when getting to know a first or second year student and being privileged to see them progress during their time at Amherst. On a related note, a particularly poignant part of Stanley’s talk was when he pulled out a letter that he had received from a student who now, at the age of 40, had finally read Anna Karenina and wanted to reach out. Stanley’s reflection on this heartfelt note was that sometimes, when students are having trouble in class or just not performing at the level to which they capable, it may mean that they are not ready for the lesson yet. “Who are we to say that you are ready for your big moment at 18 or 21?... What we do [as teachers] is not only for present consumption. At its best, it’s for the rest of your life.”
Another thread in the conversation with Stanley were his observations about the importance of engaging with students, and the use of humor to help him do so. He said that he always tries to make sure that students are talking, and talking to each other, before starting the class material for the day. He consistently emphasized the importance of learning together. “Learning is communal at its best,” he said. “It is a group enterprise.” He shared many stories of humorous ways in which he has interacted with students over the years to help build this community.
His final reflection on his approach to teaching was the following: “I do not assume that any student in a class knows why they are there. They have to experience it to discover why they are there.”