Professor Norman Cornett – “Since when do we divorce the right answer from an honest answer?”
It’s the start of a new semester and a fresh crop of undergraduates is filing into Professor Norman Cornett’s class.
There is a growing sense of curiosity in the room as Cornett distributes the lyrics to Another Brick in the Wall — and then leads the students in a rousing rendition of the counter-culture anthem: “We don’t need no thought control…”
This is not what they were expecting from Religious Studies.
Over the years Professor Cornett has won the respect and loyalty of scores of students with his unconventional approach to teaching. Whether it’s a lesson on palliative care, First Nations issues or jazz improvisation, he challenges accepted wisdom while nurturing young people at a pivotal moment in their lives and teaching them to think for themselves.