Posted by Dave on September 21, 2001 at 14:21:39:
In Reply to: I need advise. posted by Rather not say on September 20, 2001 at 10:28:02:
Teachers should be facilitators of learning. They should provide an environment that is conducive to learning, growth and exploration, and that environment is an eternally changing atmosphere with each new student that walks in the door. Coddle a student? By no means. Each student, however, reacts differently to different teaching styles. Being an inflexible automaton at the podium or beside the student seated in the instructor's throne is unprofessional and counterproductive. Students must be wary of the balance that must take place between having a teacher that is a taskmaster because he gets his rocks off seeing you sweat, and a teacher that wears Birkenstocks, sips green tea with ginseng extract, uses a Mac and drives a VW Bug. ;) You have to find a teacher that fits your style of learning. That usually takes place at the undergraduate level when a student is exposed to tons of styles. It becomes infinitely more important to find a good match at the graduate level.
I witness such callousness and shortsightedness daily from a supervisor, who, in a role of mentorship, treats each of his subordinates with the same heavy-handidness. This works brilliantly for some as their desire to "please the master" supercedes the accompanying enlightment. For others, it spells disaster and they struggle daily with the question "Am I doing this for personal growth or to appease the diety-of-the-month?"
Learning out of anger is not learning, it is spite. You will learn the skill, yes, but it's the journey that makes it all worthwhile.