Teacher's sad refrain. "Thanks, now back to the subject. where was I?"

As a not very good tutor, I have only experience of imparting knowledge to 5 persons in as many years, in my workshop. I have spent many hundreds of hours talking about and describing woodturning to groups of ladies and gentlemen in other associations and clubs and of course young people in schools which was pleasurable.

The whole idea of giving tuition is wonderful but fills me with dread. In the worst scenario the one who did not let on that he knew VERY much more than I, and was testing me out on behalf of a friend! The best was an absolute beginner who had never ever seen a lathe before but "just wanted to try" and is now as hooked as the rest of us!

Regards, Peter Charles Fagg Freshwater, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom.

Favorite: The one who just sucks your mind dry and sends you back to the books for answers. *You* also do some learning.

Least Favorite: The bump on a log!

Isn't that the truth! The most fun are the ones who challenge the teacher's depth and often, breadth of knowledge. Kids used to get on me for talking physics at the power tools, fractions at layout or botany at the wood supply, but a lot of them ended up bringing homework questions to the shop, so they must have found out that the old man knew something after all.

A bump is a bump, and bearable as long as it's not digging into someone's buttocks. That's where I drew the line.

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (Arch) wrote in news:12166-427E5047-145@storefull-

Let me turn this around for a minute.

As a student, I want to understand why, not just how. The justification, not only the declaration.

As a teacher, I want to stimulate curiousity, exploration, understanding. I challenge, and expect to be challenged. As a student, I expect the same from the teacher. A question is a challenge to understand, not a threat to the authority or expertise of the instructor. Even if it is not delicately phrased, as it often will not be.

This often irritates the bump on the log, if s/he is lazy of mind, or disinclined to be involved, over time.

The joy in my teaching adults is that they are most usually involved in the activity of their own choice. That could not always have been said of youth, in many venues.

An aside: One of my older friends is a retired sea captain, 40 years on the Pacific Coast. When he came ashore, he had to learn all new default methods of working with people. It has taken him time to adjust, but he does pretty well now, realizing that he is no longer Master & Commander.

Thanks, Arch. I'm newish here, and rather enjoy your musings.

Patriarch

I would have to say a student that approached the subject with an open mind. Age, experience, etc. are of no consequence if someone is ready to learn. I have been doing professional woodwork for about 30 years, but have come far enough down the road to know no one person knows it all. This certainly applies to me.

I have found the following to be true: The more one thinks they know, they less they actually know because of their ignorance of the subject.

I still learn something to do with woodworking almost every day after all this time. An open mind is certainly the key.

Robert

The least favorite is the clueless expert. I wait for that one to get in trouble (usually sooner than later) and then have a more humble and presumably less gifted student correct the problem. Publicly. That's usually been enough to re-adjust the experts attitude.

I'm more often in a class than at the front of it. But when I am in front of the class, there's a reason.

Bill