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- #31
I think back to some of my most memorable professors, and try to recall why they were so profound to me. It had nothing to do with the subject matter, but it was the way that they connected with me. They demanded respect, and I most certainly gave it right back ten fold. I think some of the rough exteriors we see in this generation is really only one, thin layer deep. We just have to dig down a layer to get to the good stuff.
I taught part-time for ~15 years and came to the conclusion that softness on the part of the teacher is perceived as weakness to be exploited.
I was friendly and pleasant but my deadlines were just that. I gave out a schedule at the beginning of each semester and went over how grades were determined and had every student sign a small acknowledgement that they understood - and that I kept.
It was not up to me to dig down beneath that scurvy, whining surface to the vital wonderful human core that may have existed withing each student, my job was to actually teach them things.
Can you imagine I had to enlighten my students with "what to google", something which I already told them about?
I would tend not to answer questions they should have/could have known from elsewhere. I don't see myself as the reference for facts.
Albert Einstein said, 'Never try to remember things you can look up.'
I agree with Einstein but it's up to the student to look things up.