[Squeakland] the non universals

[Blake]

On Fri, 24 Aug 2007 05:00:03 -0700, Alan Kay <alan.kay at squeakland.org>  
wrote:

> But here's where we should give the special cases amongst the much  
> maligned (and quite a bit for good reason) teacher corps great credit.  
> Every once in a while a great teacher does light the fires, and those  
> that are affected by this never forget it. To me this is the way it  
> should be, because many children are close to the intense interest that  
> you describe, and contact with another person can be just what they need  
> to give them a little more confidence and courage, to get them to look  
> at something a little closer.
>
> I've had just a few of these, but they were huge experiences in my life.

Oh, absolutely. I do believe that the positive feelings that many (most?)  
harbor for teachers comes from that "one" who really connected with them.  
And, like any class of people, the group as a whole is less admirable than  
the individuals therein.

The IAHP is very much for--as a matter of effectiveness--mom as the  
primary teacher, and yet it was they who pointed out to me that, given the  
differences in childrens' behaviors, interests and development, it's a  
miracle that they are successful at all. Which was for me, as a guy who  
felt his school years were a waste academically, a needed perspective.