THE ROBERT W. WHITAKER ARCHIVE

AN IMPORTANT QUIBBLE | 2006-05-31

I went back to grad school for a semester in 1992, just to check things out.

I took the full load and went in as a PhD candidate.

One thing I noticed was that students would say, "Professor X is teaching a seminar course in ..."

The last time I was in grad school over a quarter of a century before, nobody TAUGHT a seminar.

You LEAD a seminar. I didn't even mention this because no one would in grad school with me would understand the difference.

A COURSE is a COURSE. You are taking students through a course of study.

A SEMINAR is NOT a COURSE.

The difference between TEACHING a seminar and LEADING a seminar is exactly the same as the difference between a Soviet Assembly and a real representative government.

In representative government the leadership uses every dirty trick in the book to get a majority for its policies, which does not smack of Fairy Tale Fairness.

In a Communist "Parliament" there are no dirty tricks. All votes are unanimous.

I may be the last professor who thinks of himself as LEADING a seminar.

The minute I start TEACHING a seminar somebody like Mark or Peter jumps down my throat.

Can you imagine trying to explain that difference to a modern, hoop-jumping person who has made it to grad school?