Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all.
I guess that means that people I thought were stupid were just vain…
I think that it has more to do with the way the brain processes information than vainity. Our brains are hard-wired to learn more easily when we are young. Once we get older, our brains are much more adapt at using information we already have. Younger people tend not to have what is normally called "wisdom". They aren't able to use applied knowledge.
Great quote though..
Younger people tend not to have what is normally called "wisdom"
Or would that be called "Common sense"???
LOL good one Pooga, but since we track money shouldn't we say common "cents"?
I don't think the brain is hardwired for anything..
It is true most people learn the most when they are young, but age means little if you are willing to learn.
Older people tend to be stuck in their ways a little more than younger people.
I agree LC, if you are willing to learn you can. The point I was trying to make, is that as we age we begin to learn differently. When we are young we absorb information like a sponge, and are able to regurgitate it more easily (like memorizing it). As we get older, it takes longer to absorb the information, but as we do, we are able to put it into a more meaningful context. We are able to learn something, and then use the knowledge and apply it much more easily than the young.
Good Point willdo
Another factor in how we use the knowledge though is how good the teacher is. Different people will like different teachers & their techniques of teaching more than others.
I know in university I really disliked some of my professors, while some of the other students in the same class though he was great.
The classes I had a more difficult time in directly related to how well I responded to the teacher.
How much one learns from another person directly depends on how well they respond to the teacher.
A perfect example is in highschool my brother had a teacher he didn't like & never did well in math.
when the semester was almost done I tutored him, showed him some easy little tricks. & he ended up passing the class instead of failing. I am not sure exactly what his mark was b4 or after but I think it almost doubled.
35% ish to 70% ish
LOL LC, that is so true. My marks in high school ran from a 51% to a 94%. My mother knew right away by my marks if I like the teacher or not. Unfortunately, it turned me off Geography in grade 9 because of a crappy teacher. I regret not following it now, as it is one of the subjects that really interests me.
You must be a good teacher (and brother) to be able to pull off a recovery like that :)
Brother is pretty smart.. I just think his teacher didn't really know the subject..
When I was in highschool I had the highest mark in my math classes all though high school
I took my grade 12 Algerbra & grade 12 Trig. when I was in grade 11
I can vouch for that…LC definately helped his younger brothers in Maths and please mention Computers… absolutely amazing!!! (I never did see him study) Sure didn't get it from me! Also the big strong helper every mom needs.
I really believe it is the teacher, my son only gets maybe 50's and said his english teacher does not like him, so I wrote an essay for him I only got a 45!! It was the best essay I ever wrote and I had good marks in english. So at his graduation I told him I would tell this teacher what I thought was wrong with her marking, then let her know that I wrote it, of course after she told me how bad it was!! Really, I was just trying to prove a point to my son, and the teacher failed me!!!
Essays, especially in english are very objective in being marked.
The person who marks it doesn't really have to say why it receives a bad mark. As a trend in marking the teacher just didn't like your son.
In math there is only 1 answer. you may find the answer different ways, but if you get the right answer and show the work it can't be wrong.
I also thought computer science was one of those things, but my very 1st semester in university I had a teacher who gave me bad marks even though my programs were perfect.. better than the 60 - 70 % of the class I had helped do those assignments. At the end of the semester I took my program & the programs of those who I had helped do.. cause they all knew I deserved a better mark then them to the Dean of Computer Science.
Since then that teacher Has not taught at the U of R.
I don't think he cared to much cause he was just a graduate student..
But cause of his failure to teach X number classes I don't think he got his masters degree he had wanted.
There are teacher & teachers pets.. if you are in a class where the mark can be objective. Make sure your a teachers pet.
Show up early for every class, have all your assignments in on time.. or early.. .. Be attentive in class.
Teachers will try to fail you just for spite if they don't like you, which really sucks when you are paying so much for that class.
I was in one class of math where one of the students did not need to write any work down to get to the answer. He just wrote all the answers down without showing the steps. All his answers were correct but the instuctor gave him a mark of 0. He was infuriated. There was at the beginning of the test a small note that said show your work.
Yea well in complex math if you don't show your work it is more assumed you copied the answers.
even in grade 12 trig I could do it all in my head.
Funny story actually My grade 12 trig teacher had me sitting right next to the window. . It was the last class of the day & the sun was shining in the window. I almost always fell asleep. The teacher would take 15 minutes writing a problem on the board. It would stretch accross both boards. I would look at it for about 30 seconds say the answer. then he would say would you like to show us how you got that.
So i would end up teaching the class how to do the problem for the last 1/2 hour of the class.
that happened atleast 5 times.
no dout eh, in high school i tried too hard ended up with crappy grades, in upgrading yrs later my marks wernt even comparable with h.s. marks my lowest i think was around 65% in early part of semester them sky rocketed to 100% in chem and bio. numerous times, could not believe that but was true.
I had no interest in most of the subject but I did excell in english (and spelling) till one grade 9 teacher. We were studying greek mythology and our final mark was dependant upon writing our own greek style myth. I got a zero cause she said that there was no way I could have written that and that I had to have copied it from somewhere. a kick in the ass and a pat on the back at the same time? I think I spent about 2 hours writing it. the names were the hardest to come up with. too bad I was so pissed that i ripped it up.
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