Well it has been a long time since I have taken time out of the roller coater that is life to pen a few thoughts. One of the themes that has emerged in my life of late is the constant question of what do you plan to do when you qualify. Well the answer is quite simple I don’t know. Now goodbye and, “cheers for all the fish”.
On a more serious note last week I had this conversation again with an orthopedic surgeon and basically the conversation came down to two things:
1) I was trying to keep an open mind as I had thoroughly enjoyed some placements such as surgery and others that I hadn’t enjoyed may have been because they lacked structure.
2) Did I enjoy some placements more than others because the teacher actually took an interest and enthused us all?
The second point is the point that I personally think is what it comes down to. Some people can just teach and others could bore the comatosed out of bed. In reading a book by Malcolm Gladwell recently this issue is also highlighted about how some teachers can get pupils to out perform their peers and other teachers can actually be detrimental to your learning. His point was that cumulative crap teaching could leave a pupil with a large chasm of knowledge after a few years.
I have had loads of educational contact time over the years and I have certainly noticed that some people are gifted, and others may as well not take on such roles as they are disadvantaging the next generation.
In my opinion a good teacher leaves a lasting effect that is invaluable. They have an effect that even if they were teaching you the bar codes on bags of peas it would appear interesting. They also tend to draw people into their field, and sometimes it can be an area of a subject you had never considered as a career.
Looking back at school I had a few legends who taught me so much so that even now I can still remember stuff like, Moles, the Classification System in Biology and Dulce et Decorum. They also made me interested in what they were teaching so much that I went home and spent time trying to get to grips with what they had said. In short they were inspiring.
Now the other crowd, “of mystical creatures who can engage smart people for an hour, and when you get home you wonder what was that about”, how do we get them out of teaching. Yes that is right I think that some of the educationalists are crap at teaching. Now how do we get those that can’t teach away from pupils who are initially receptive to new subjects. I suppose the answer is feedback but that assumes that it is actually read and taken seriously.
One example that I wish to finish on is a friend who used to sit beside me during my initial degree, and during the most boring hours of life that we wouldn’t get back. While some prat talked about some really important life changing topic such as, the use of magnesium sterate and its importance so that powder can flow down a hopper without static, he would mutter, “We are living the dream”. He was right we probably were dreaming as we certainly weren’t enthused.
Somehow he did get enthused by another subject!
A few were so unenthusiastic about some classes they brought the broadsheets to class!
How many times were we taught about MRI/UV/IR spectroscopy? Losing the will to live…never mind attend class!
Still, we are all set on our path by different means…..