A point worth reinforcing with respect to notes is that notes can never be a
complete transcript of what went on in class--no one can write that fast or
capture enough of the by-talk. Notes, then, serve as a "memory-jogger" for the
events that occurred in the class, including the substantive content covered.
Anyone else's notes can surely be no more than a pale reflection of what
actually transpired in the class.
Memories are idiosyncratic and notes are idiosyncratic. No one else's notes can
be as good (for the purpose of jogging one's own memories) as one's own notes.
Hence, being present is crucial to any individual's learning; having the notes
in hand is largely incidental to that.
My own notes are similarly idiosyncratic for me; they jog my memory as I talk.
They are very far from a complete record of what was covered in any given class
period. Consequently, on the few occasions when I have been asked to borrow my
notes for a class, I've simply said "No, you wouldn't understand them." And I
believe that.
Pat Cabe
**************************************************
Patrick Cabe, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
One University Drive
Pembroke, NC 28372-1510
(910) 521-6630
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
Thomas Jefferson
"There is the danger that everyone waits
idly for others to act in his stead."
Albert Einstein
"Majorities simply follow minorities.
Gandhi
