kathy kurz

The why’ 5 of asking why

At Grinncll, we are ostensibly
taught to think critically, Sometimes I
wonder. I don’t see students construc-
tively criticizing or questioning often
enough.

George Drake spoke about liberal
arts, stressing its advantages of
developing imagination, appreciation
of knowledge, skills oi communication,
and, last but not least, techniques of
critical thinking

While the theory sounds appealing,
sometimes I wonder if that’s what
we’re learning. Do we take the time,
or are we too rushed to prepare for
the next assignment, the next test,
and to complete the next syllabus

The notion of questioning can he ape
plied to many aspects of life at Grins
nell and, I think, should be be
developed for use outside school, so
that we only accept or reject what
goes on around us aiter thinking
critically about it.

At GrinnellI we should think about
material presented in a classroom lec-
ture and ask our proiessors “Why?"
Aie they presenting several angles of
a discipline or avoiding a controversy
within a certain field? Is a professor
open to students questions or are we
made to ieei that we are interrupting,
that our question deviates from the
class syllabus, or that the query is
somehow stupid? Are we encouraged
to constructively challenge what the
professor or other students are saying,
or do we accept that thc proiessor
always has the “right" answer?

Time and again, in classes of discus-
sion tormat where there are supposed»
ly no right or wrong answers, a pro
fessor actively seeks his or her

”right" answer. We are not blatantly
told that we are wrong, yet some
answers are thwarted while others are
praised and supported Why?

I think we could learn more if the
discussion included an explanation of
why the point raised was more ap-
propriate, or ina propriate in the
minds of the stu ents, as well as the
professor In other words, reasons
should accompany what each in-
dividual in the classroom thinks,
whether the professor agrees or
disagrees. If the class deals with infor-
mation that is more factual and
“right" answers truly can be
established, then when a student
responds incorrectly, he or she might
learn more if a professor backtracked
through the logic until the mistake
was found.

We students could question
ourselves and each other, outside the
classroom as well as in. Combined
With a good listening technique.
friends could be or more help to each
other' in decision making times

Someone I met once said that during
the five years since she had graduated
from college, a group other friends
had communicated with each other,
supporting and questioning their
moves toward jobs, graduate schools,
etc, She felt that her friends had
helped her retain some objectivity in
regard to her future; where she might
have been swayed toward one job over
another because of its location, salary,
or power, the friends asked her to ex-
plain why the work seemed appealing.

Her technique could be used among
Grinnell students to ask questions over
a range of topics: “Why am I (are

Clemments: ‘electronic glop’

To the editor: what a glop of elec-
tronic gonpl

This past weekend, i went to the
3:00 pm show oi Vassar Clemments,
warned that it would be a mixture of
jazz, rock, and bluegrass. All right, i
was not quite sure how Vassar was go-
ing to pull it on but I figured that he
had the talent to at least make an in-
teresting attempt. ,

I was mistaken After four or five
numbers, enough screeching and wail-
ing of electronic fiddle had passed
through my ears that I realized the
music didn’t promise to get much bet
ter and I really didn‘t want to hear
anymore.

The drummer‘s one variation on
boomrchic/boomrchic (a boomrchicr
chic/boomrchicschic pattern) had long
since become monotonous. The
keyboard man, although playing well,
lacked subtlety, and the rest were not

September 2t, 7979

producing the interesting variations
they are capable of playing. Besides
this, there were technical problems:
low notes were lost, high notes were
over-emphasized to a shriek, solos
were muffled by the hlare oi the other
instruments. So I got up and left.
Vassar Clemments introduced the
first three or four tunes as bluegrass.
I do not know how he defines
bluegrass, but I was under the impress
sion that it involved a fiddle. banjo,
bass, acoustic guitar, and mandolin,
Evidently, Vassar feels a band only
needs an electric fiddle and guitar,
supporting instruments, and a sound
man to synthesize, distort, and abrade
the music, in order to play bluegrass.
What has happened to musicians
like DaVid Bromherg seems to have
happened to Vassar Clemments: they

“jazz up their acts" to include a var-
iety of musical styles, so that the

_ ' r- i,
you) at Grinnell College7; why is it.
that I'm (you’re) not motivated to do
homework7; Why do you (I) want to,
go to medical (law) school?; Why
were you (was It acting that way in_
the Pub last night?” The theme is
don’t accept things as they are without
thinking about their reasons. When- .
taken seriously, answering the above .
questions can be a good exercise in _
critical thinking.

By now you may be asking. “Why is
this important?” In a very general
sense, it matters that somewhere and'
somehow everything is questioned by g
someone With no questioners,
political rigures like Nixon would
abound and the war in Viet Nam might
still be raging Grinnell College
have already instituted distribution re-
quirements and core curriculum. As it
is, other national politicians get away
with atrocities and illegalities because
they are too distant to be questioned;
to be accountable, and at Grinnell,
there are probably a few too many ade
ministrative reorganizations that oc-
cur before enough questions are ask-
ed. ,

letters to the editor

music will, in turn, appeal to a larger
audience. They go to where the money
is and return too inirequently to that
special area wherein perhaps most of
their musical prowess lies. In some
cases, this transition can be an im:
provement; in the instance of Vassar
Clemments, I felt it was not. He has
traded a lot of technique and style for
a more mediocre sound.

But who am I to judge? What do i
know about the “ins and outs" of the
music business? Maybe Vassar Clemr
ments is right. And maybe the , ~
Mirccuurt Trio should go disco. Diane
Fisher

 

