This post is an appreciation of Andy Stables the researcher and the man. \u00a0It is written by Dr Alin Olteanu, a member of the\u00a0K\u00e4te Hamburger Kolleg Cultures of Research at\u00a0RWTH Aachen University. \u00a0Alin gave this as an oration at Andy's funeral on February 9th.<\/p>\n
Andy was an outstanding PhD supervisor and a great friend. \u00a0I will talk about him as I knew him, but my words cannot express all that he has given to me and to many who worked with him. \u00a0He is among the most prominent scholars in the philosophy of education and in semiotics, the study of meaning. \u00a0As such, he is particularly appreciated as a founder of the semiotic approach to education.<\/p>\n
I met Andy in person for the first time when I started my PhD. \u00a0On that day, he only asked me about myself and about my interests. \u00a0He did not want to inquire about what his new PhD student knows, to assess what am I able to do. \u00a0He did not care about testing me. \u00a0He genuinely wanted to know me. \u00a0In this way, he empowered me to find my own path. \u00a0I understood early on that, like his research, Andy\u2019s teaching was guided by his understanding that learning is interpreting. \u00a0Students are not learning machines, stacking information quantitatively. \u00a0By learning, we afford new and unique interpretations of the world. \u00a0To acquire new information is to create new information and, likely, to change one\u2019s previous views. \u00a0Andy knew that what the student learns is not the same as what the teacher thinks they are teaching. \u00a0He knew, this is to say, that every person is unique and that this is of crucial importance in education. \u00a0His teaching was shaped by this profound consideration. \u00a0Should this simple but profound notion be properly assimilated formally in education, we would live in a better world.<\/p>\n
By understanding that learning is interpreting, Andy knew to leave space for his students and colleagues to develop their own thinking. \u00a0He knew to make space for dialogue and, as such, to inspire those around him. \u00a0He genuinely cared for the people who worked with him. \u00a0Andy\u2019s academic work is harmonious with his personality. \u00a0No doubt, Andy contributed to making the world a better place, and not only through his work. \u00a0I am not the only one to be saying this today.<\/p>\n
Among many merits, his philosophical work brought important contributions to environmental education, the current relevance of which cannot be exaggerated. \u00a0That we are each unique does not mean that we are isolated. \u00a0On the contrary, for Andy, we are each unique because we are environmentally situated. \u00a0Our understandings of the world overlap and we can relate to each other. \u00a0Particularly, we learn by relating. \u00a0By thinking of learning as environmental, that we learn according to how circumstances may inspire us, his teaching consisted in offering the best circumstances for each student to develop in their own ways.<\/p>\n
By doing so, Andy has set me and many others up for success. \u00a0He empowered his students and colleagues. \u00a0By working with Andy, I overcame personal fears and limitations, and I realized my own potential. \u00a0I also became a better, kinder person by observing how Andy remained humane and understanding in any professional circumstances, no matter how stressful. \u00a0That is one of his many traits that I try to imitate. \u00a0Andy taught me what I needed in order to complete a PhD and have an academic career. \u00a0He taught me to write academically and to carry out research and he does not cease to teach me, as he is now teaching me to deliver the most difficult text. \u00a0In the way in which he guided me and helped me find my own path, he has given me something priceless, much more important than merely a career, and which will stay with me forever. \u00a0I do not know how to name it but, using Andy\u2019s words, I know how to live by it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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