Unlike some other brilliant people I have met, Prof. Carter is approachable, engaging, and a true educator. Everything Prof. Osler said and more. He and I talked about a host of subjects, everything from the dwindling Texas water supply to football to fiction writing to the future of the Episcopal Church. Prof. Carter had many insightful things to say about these issues, the pressing and the mundane, but he was also genuinely interested in my thoughts. I've always thought that one of the marks of a true thinker is that they derive more joy from conversation than they do from pontificating. For all that his knowledge and understanding surpassed mine on any number of subjects, Prof. Carter invited me propose theories, state my views, and challenge a few of his. Many of his sentences began with, "So do you think..." At Judge Starr's inauguration yesterday, Prof. Carter spoke of the need for civility and mutual respect in American public discourse. After spending time with him, I can tell that this is not some idea he dreamed up to bash talking heads and sell books. To me he seems to have a heartfelt conviction that we all need to do some deep thinking, and--even more importantly--deep listening.Gushing aside, I'm honored to have met the man, and proud to be among his academic descendants (through the Osler line). Please excuse me now, I need to go buy every book he's ever published.
You know, I really do believe in that idea of "academic descendants." Is it a surprise that those of us who teach are shaped by our favorite teachers, and try to be like them?
ReplyDeleteHaving had the opportunity to hear Prof. Carter's talk at Judge Starr's inauguruation, I must confess that I am envious of the time you got to spend with him.
ReplyDeleteThere are too few opportunities for too few people to be exposed to thinkers like Stephen Carter.
And, like Mark, I think "academic descendants" is a very real idea. Kind of an offshoot of "standing on the shoulders of giants."
By the way, I love that the first label for that post is "awesomeness."
ReplyDeleteProf.- Is that a pitch for "The Osler Method," should I ever have the opportunity to teach?
ReplyDeleteWoody- During the drive, the words "this is so awesome" kept repeating themselves in my head. The label post for this was the natural result.
Jesse--
ReplyDeleteYes. Yes it is. Though you could also think of it as the Carter method or the Freed method, since it isn't really mine (or probably theirs).