Learning should be a pleasure-generating activity. Unfortunately, it is
often associated with frustration. Who do I blame when learning
generates much more frustration than pleasure? First I blame myself for
not being properly prepared, for example, for not knowing enough math,
or for skipping other expected prerequisites. Should I also blame those
who ask me to learn things for which my mind is not prepared? I do not
think so. In an advanced course I should blame a teacher who gave my a
passing grade in a lower level course.
P.S.
This comment was not triggered by any specific academic situation; it
was triggered by frustration generated in reading a "user's manual" for
a specific application. That manual was not written for a novice user
of a fancy instument. So who should I blame? I blame the company that
published the guide; the prerequisites should have been stated on the
first page. Unfortunately, guides and tutorials are often written by
people who do not know how to teach. The problem seems to be more
serious that most of us realize. Being technically correct is not the
same thing as being effective in teaching. All teachers, academic and
non-academic, should have typical audience in mind.
_______________________________________________________
Ludwik Kowalski, a retired physicist
5 Horizon Road, apt. 2702, Fort Lee, NJ, 07024, USA
Also an amateur journalist at http://blake.montclair.edu/~kowalskil/cf/