a gentle guru
Scottie Bowman (bowman@mail.indigo.ie)
Sat, 31 Oct 1998 07:51:26 +0000
In the context of the list, I shall, of course, call `will'
by whatever name he indicates. But I do urge him to remain
Dr Hochman whilst in teaching mode.
An atmosphere of friendly familiarity is fatal in education,
since it robs both the teacher & the taught of vital human
freedoms.
On the one hand, the maintenance of good relationships
begins to takes precedence over instruction. The teacher
is restrained by his own kindliness from pointing out when
the pupil is talking balls. He may start to withold unpalatable
truths or facts for fear of upsetting a `friend'. He'll never know
if the stuff his students hand in are tailored to his way of
thinking in the hope of financial assistance or erotic adventure.
And in what is essentially a transactional situation, nothing
goes sourer quicker than expectations raised by `friendship'.
On the other, the student will be reluctant to hurt the teacher's
feelings by pointing out that he is unintelligible. He may well
be forced into that awful, jovial `mateyness' between the highly
informed mind & the vacuous mind. He can never exercise
that antagonistic rivalry with his master which is the real spur
to growth.
The situation is much the same as in medicine. I may be grumpy
old Scottie to the rest of you. But if any of my patients were
to forget that they were dealing with Dr Bowman, I should give
them a very severe talking-to, prescribe cold baths daily &
double their fees.
Scottie B.