I definitely want to clarify that I DO NOT believe that teaching is a form of entertainment. I believe that acting and teaching uses the same skill set which takes hard work, dedication, and practice to master. Teaching can certainly be entertaining at times, but I don’t think it is a form of entertainment. The distinction here being the role of an audience is very different than the role of the student.

Likewise, I think the arts can learn from engineering. One of my routine problems in the arts is our inability to utilize scientific or engineering innovation so we are not repeatedly reinventing the wheel. If science and/or engineering solves a problem, they can use that solution to begin working on a whole new set of problems. It’s the natural progression in your field. When the arts chooses to perform a play or a symphony, it takes human artists just as long to perfect the material today as it did 500 years ago. This is a problem known as Baumol’s Cost Disease.

Interestingly, I think both disciplines could learn a lot from one another. I also think the idea of assessment, incentive, and grades would benefit immensely by incorporating both practices.

Thanks for directing me to Aakash’s post. I dug it enough to leave a comment.