When it's hard to make a choice... 2016-12-15

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2016-12-15
When it's hard to make a choice...
   Today I want to tell you about two teachers whom I met in my school of professional training.
My learning course takes six months during which students study two programming languages, C and Java, and basics about embedded systems on microcomputers. Needless to say that this course requires that teachers have a high level of professional knowledge in a wide field. Our class has two teachers for different disciplines.
   I discovered very soon that both of our teachers have very high skills and experience. It made me confident about enhancing my knowledge. However their ways of teaching are very different from each other. That's why I can't help from comparing them all the time, and today I want to describe both of them.
   First of all, I can't say which one is better. I respect both of them for their dedicated work in our class, especially considering the fact that more than half of the students are not willingly attending the course.
   The first one is "good guy". He is positive in many ways. Having a high-school mathematics teacher as a wife and a son who makes big success in playing baseball in the high school team, he is probably content with his life and proud of his family. His "being-a-good-family-man" lifestyle influences his way of dealing with us - taking care of those who needs his help, and making things right.
His way of teaching is slow but thorough. He doesn't leave any complicated topic in the textbook unattended.
He involves everyone into the depths of a subject. Sometimes his lessons might be boring but they are never complicated or confusing. Everything is clear, and you feel confident and comfortable at the end of the day.
   The other one is "smart guy". It's hard to explain why I put him at the opposite side when comparing them. He is well educated, smart, and polite to students. His lessons are never boring. He doesn't follow the textbook thoroughly as the "good guy" does. He uses textbooks as guidelines and creates his own lesson, flexibly adjusting it to the students level.
He asks questions and keep the audience tense and nervous. Everything looks good.  He is the smartest teacher you could ever imagine. But I don't feel comfortable with his lessons. First of all, however hard you try to accomplish your practice task,
he will always show you a way in which it's better and more optimal. His huge field of experience and maniac attitude toward programming makes him unbreakable. It is interesting that in theory this kind of teacher is supposed to inspire you into studying. However in real life it turns out to be quite different.
   When studying something, you need to acknowledge your small goals. When you are happy about what you have achieved, you can move forward without thinking of how imperfect you still are in this field. Especially when studying language. Even when you are far from a fluent level, you can enjoy short conversations or simple songs.
Small happiness encourages you to keep on going.
In the "smart guy"s case, he never leaves you satisfied about your work. His attitude subconsciously
makes you feel desperate because you can see that your skill is a far cry from the teacher's , and probably you will never be as perfect as he is. I notice that he never says that. I think that the problem is that he can't be on the same level with us while our "good guy" can easily switch to an easier way of explanation when we are not yet familiar with the subject.
   When I compared my progress with these two teachers I surprisingly found out that I have made the same progress with both of them so far. Getting along on good terms with a nice thorough teacher leaves you a bright and clear image of the lessons, while putting up with the super-smart teacher teases your brain and makes you work out some way to challenge him.
Even if I had to make a choice, I probably couldn't choose between them, so it's nice to have them both!