Men Who Teach; 3; Abraham Kaplan
- Series
- Men Who Teach
- Episode Number
- 3
- Episode
- Abraham Kaplan
- Producing Organization
- National Educational Television and Radio Center
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/516-r20rr1qn7d
- NOLA Code
- MNWT
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- Description
- Episode Description
- Abraham Kaplan, a professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan, describes himself in this way: By training a positivist, by inclination a pragmatist in temperament a mystic; in practice a Democrat, my faith Jewish, educated by the Catholics a habitual Protestant. Born in Europe, raised in the Midwest, hardened in the east and softened once more in California. Psychoanalyzed denatured. In short an American academician. Abraham Kaplan is a bearded man who speaks animatedly, passionately and clearly; and for whom each moment, question, or memory is a stimulus for an exploration of himself or society, inciting him to uncover why we as human beings think, act, and feel as we do. In his lectures, he speaks very nearly off the cuff, talking for an hour from five short lines of notes. And he is careful to relate his material to each students existence with illustrations which often occur to him on the platform. In a lecture on the Ten Commandments, to illustrate how the Commandments point up the conflict between duty and desire, Kaplan gives his students a quick test, asking them to write down each of the ten laws. To the obvious amusements of the class, and Kaplan himself, no student misses Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery, while at least a scattering misses each of the others. Kaplan says because this Commandment clearly indicates the conflict between duty and desire, it is more important to them than the others. No one, he says, referring to the second Commandment, has an overwhelming desire to make graven images. Kaplan concedes the necessity of textbook facts, but believes that, as a teacher, his primary purpose is to shape a mans temper of mind. Education, to him, is the ability of a developed mind to profit from experience. Kaplan, who has been developing minds for more than 25 years via the teaching of philosophy, is deeply dissatisfied with American Philosophy. Finding it narrow and too much centered on linguistics and mathematics, he pleads for more social relevance that it be a guide to life. Consequently, one year he may teach the philosophy of art, science, and politics; and the next year, the philosophy of three other subjects. His course, The Philosophy of the Old Testament, for example, is not concerned with religion itself but rather with the most fundamental concepts in a body of thought for which the words, the poetry, and the prayers are simply the representative acts. Kaplan says that in shaping a mans temper of mind, he, himself, often makes now and exciting discoveries. Kaplans wife, Iona, recalls the period when she and Kaplan were students at the University of Chicago. Mrs. Kaplan remembers him as a then young graduate student, very poor and away from home, who used to visit her house and eat what she and her mother believe was his only decent meal of the week. Their daughter, Karen, paints an admiring and appreciative word picture of her father, and students and colleagues give their assessments. Presented, too, are interviews with Kaplan on his philosophy of education, youth, and a number of related subjects. We also see him romping with his grandson, and counseling students in his office. Man Who Teach: Abraham Kaplan is a National Educational Television production. This series was made possible by a grant from the Celanese Corporation. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Series Description
- A series of hour-long documentary episodes about the nations master teachers produced by National Educational Television. Called Men Who Teach, the series was made possible by a $250,000 grant from the Celanese Corporation. In a joint announcement by John F. White, president of NET, and John W. Brooks, president of Celanese, the series was characterized as a distinguished and dramatic portrait of the role of the university teacher in America. Mr. White said: Industry has a tremendous stake in education and, I am convinced, in educational television. We are grateful to Celanese for this opportunity to forge another link between business, NET, and the academic world, allowing the television audience to encounter the personality and to sense the dedication of some of our great university teachers. Mr. Brooks observed that Contrary to the beliefs of many young people today, there is not very much difference between the goals or the methods of scientist in the universities and those in private industry. Celanese intends this series to be a tribute to the many inspired teachers who set the standards of academic excellence in the US and contribute so much to the quality of our culture. We believe NET is the logical showcase for this distinguished and dramatic portrait of great teaching, Mr. Brooks continued. Educational or public television is essential as a medium for those important messages which may be too specialized for the format and cost structure of commercial TV. Men Who Teach is such a message, and Celanese is proud to be associated with it. Each episode deals with a different university or college teacher selected on the basis of extensive research among a representative cross-section of institutions throughout the United States. Time Inc., and the Danforth Foundation have made available to NET their continuing research, undertaken by Time magazine for its April 1967 cover story about teachers and by Danforth in its Harbison Awards program for distinguished teachers. Subjects selected include Gerald Holton, professor of physics, Harvard University, Norman Jacobson, professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley; Lloyd Reynolds, art historian and calligrapher at Reed College in Portland, OR; Abraham Kaplan, professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan; Howard Mitchell, professor of urbanism and human resource at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Universitys Human Resources Programs; and William Geer, professor of English at the University of North Carolina. Each episode takes the audience into the classrooms and laboratories with the teacher, showing him at work and providing insights into his views about the process of education. The cameras also visit the teachers home, and seek out the reaction of his students in dormitory bull sessions. The 5 episodes that comprise this series were originally recorded on film and distributed on videotape. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Broadcast Date
- 1968-04-30
- Asset type
- Episode
- Genres
- Documentary
- Topics
- Education
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Credits
-
-
Associate Producer: Bernstein, Penny
Director: Luby, Earle
Film Editor: Voynow, Zine
Narrator: Marrow, Don
Producer: Luby, Earle
Producing Organization: National Educational Television and Radio Center
Writer: Luby, Earle
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive
Identifier: [request film based on title] (Indiana University)
Format: 16mm film
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Men Who Teach; 3; Abraham Kaplan,” 1968-04-30, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed June 24, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-r20rr1qn7d.
- MLA: “Men Who Teach; 3; Abraham Kaplan.” 1968-04-30. American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. June 24, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-r20rr1qn7d>.
- APA: Men Who Teach; 3; Abraham Kaplan. Boston, MA: American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-r20rr1qn7d