Re: Unteachableness?

["Prof. Carol F. Heskett" <cheskett@baldwinw.edu>]

Neal,
	Good for you!  I still feel the same way after 34 years of 
teaching both high school and college. (That makes me 55 years old but 
only for 6 more days!)  Once I close my door, I'm "as happy as a clam."
It's all the other "stuff" that gets to me.  Peace on the journey.  Carol

On Sat, 3 Feb 1996, Neal Lerner wrote:

> Jim--I suppose the idealist in me resists the notion that anyone is 
> "unteachable."  Since I've taught lots of non-traditional students, I 
> might offer the observation that at certain times some students are more 
> ready to learn than others.  Learning takes an open-mindedness, a 
> willingness to take risks, a feeling of safety and who knows what else on 
> the student's part.  To link this to the "is it fun?" thread, there's a 
> certain irony, I suppose, that we find so many 18 year olds "unready" to 
> learn.  Heck, I know I was at that age.
> 
> Others on this list have pointed out how important the variable of *time* 
> is in learning.  But most educational systems have time slots that are 
> chosen for reasons other than learning efficiency.  That's one of those 
> institutional restrains we can't seem to overcome.
> 
> I believe in "life-long learning" (and, I guess, life-long teaching?).  
> But maybe that's just because I don't believe anyone is ever quite 
> finished with the process.
> 
> 	Neal Lerner
> 	nlerner@acs.bu.edu
>