Excellent teachers

As we were mountain biking yesterday morning, on two occasions we ran into a group of young high school guys trail running. My wife said to me: “We should have started that young...” I told her: “At that time I hated running and it gave me side aches!” I continued and said “...I wasn't that good either and my gym teachers all used to put me down.” That was it. That was true. Except for the time when I was in elementary school, I never had the good fortune to getting teachers that were nurturing, compassionate, encouraging and motivating.

Many of them could only recite a mumbo-jumbo of data without any regard for basic pedagogy; they were just talking, they were not having a conversation with their class. Some would even poke fun at their students' difficulties or ineptitude. This in large part is why I never understood math, physics or chemistry. I'm not making any excuses and don't harbor any rancor; I just look at this episode in my life quite coldly and objectively. To this day, I'm convinced that the ideal teacher is the one able to step into the student's shoes and makes a complex story understandable. That's what I call excellence in teaching.