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A quiet passion
HI 321: American Colonial History
Todays case study involves David Brainerd, a mid-eighteenth-century student kicked out of Yale for suggesting that one of his teachers had no more grace than his chair.
Nineteen students, seated along three sides of a square of tables in Tisch 308, seem insatiably gabbyuntil Tad Kuroda, smart in a jacket and bow tie, arrives and sits at the fourth. After setting his watch in front of him and enjoying a moment of chit-chat with his students, he starts peppering them with questions, speaking as though it were 1740:
Tell me about Yalewhy was it founded? Who runs it? How many faculty members are there? They are called tutorsis that a respected title? What do we know about David Brainerd? Do you think hes abnormal? Ready responses (Harvard was getting too liberal; ministers over the age of 40; four; they play second fiddle to the president, but that doesnt diminish their importance; hes devoutly religious; yeah) indicate the students did their assigned reading.
After nearly an hours debate about Brainerds expulsionin which students put themselves in the shoes of the Yale trustees and try to make their viewpoints stickabout two-thirds of the class votes to readmit Brainerd. Kuroda then reveals what really happened: Yale offered to readmit Brainerd on the condition that he spend another year at the college before receiving his degree, but Brainerd refused.
The students, who seem indifferent to the outcome, have argued well and listened respectfully to opposing views. Reaching for his watch, Kuroda gently reminds his young scholars that they owe him papers and then dismisses class. MTS
Some mortal angel nominated him for the 2004 Ralph A. Ciancio Award for Excellence in Teaching, and history professor Tadahisa Kuroda says being selected was a special compliment: Ciancio worked tirelessly for the college, and I have tried to emulate his high standards.
Kuroda has been at Skidmore for thirty-five years, teaching U.S. and European history, expository writing, and interdisciplinary courses; serving as associate dean of the faculty and department chair; and being named Moseley lecturer, among other honors. He currently holds the David H. Porter chair at the college.
With his mild demeanor and decidedly mellow teaching style, Kuroda is apparently no less an effective instructor than his more theatrical counterparts. You see the standard he sets for his own scholarship, and you want to work at that level, says Zander Baron 02. Students say his classes are tough, but fun and engaging. They are consistently impressed with how well he knows history and how accessible he makes his subjectseven when they have traditionally been thought of as dry or boring, notes Katherine Martinelli 05. In his upper-level courses, Kuroda employs the case-study method of teaching, where students learn to place themselves in the mindset of diverse peoples and understand why they thought and acted as they did, says Nick Adornetto 05, who proclaims his professor one of Skidmores best.
For his part, Kuroda is ever optimistic that his protegés are bright, care about others, and will do well in their families, careers, and service to their communities. It is good to be a small part of their lives and feel that I am doing work that has real value.
Director of Skidmores Liberal Studies program Joanna Zangrando says the secret to Kurodas success may be his ability to listen. His ego is such that he does not need to dominate conversations. He truly values what others say, without being judgmental. And psychologist Mary Ann Foley views Kuroda as a prime example of an educator for whom teaching is much more than the process of disseminating informationits a way of life. People are well aware of his insatiable curiosity and pleasure in being a student of history himself.
|Kuroda is a prime example of an educator for whom teaching is much more than the process of disseminating information
its a way of life.
Ken Hardy 02, who spent a summer doing collaborative research with Kuroda, says he is as thoughtful and attentive outside the classroom as he is inside. Hes one of those professors whose offices you walk into with a specific question and emerge a half hour later having not only had your question answered, but having also heard a great story and learned something about life.
Jody Rose Platt 86 concurs. Even years after graduation, I still enjoy talking with Tad. In our e-mail exchanges, he still teachesabout life
which is, after all, tomorrows history. MTS