Page 191 - A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science

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helplessness about learning among students. Surprisingly, teacher evaluation
systems may foster the same helplessness—these systems allow you to place the
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blame for failure on your teacher’s inability to motivate or instruct. Student-
centered learning, where students are challenged to learn from one another and
are expected to be their own drivers toward mastery of the material, is
extraordinarily powerful.

The Value of Great Teachers

You will also sometimes have a chance to interact with truly special mentors or
teachers. When this lucky opportunity arises, seize it. Train yourself to get past
the gulp stage and force yourself to reach out and ask questions—real and to-the-
point questions, not questions meant to show off what you know. The more you
do this, the easier it will become, and the more helpful it will be in ways you

never anticipated—a simple sentence growing from their vast experience can
change the course of your future. And also be sure to show appreciation for the
people guiding you—it is essential to let them know that the help is meaningful.
Be wary, however, of falling into “sticky student” syndrome. Kind teachers,
in particular, can become magnets for students whose true needs involve desire
for the ego-boosting attention of the instructor far more than answers to the
actual questions being posed. Well-meaning teachers can burn out trying to

satisfy never-to-be-satisfied desires.
Also avoid the trap of feeling certain your answer is correct, and attempting
to force your teacher to follow the tortured steps of your logic when your answer
is obviously wrong. Every once in a while, you might ultimately be proven
correct, but for many teachers, particularly at more advanced levels in math and
science, trying to follow twisted, erroneous thinking is like listening to out-of-

tune music—a thankless, painful exercise. It’s generally best to start your
thinking afresh and listen to your teacher’s suggestions. When you finally
understand the answer, you can go back if you want to debug your previous
error. (Often you’ll realize, in one fell swoop, that it’s difficult to even put into
words how wrong your previous approach was.) Good teachers and mentors are
often very busy people, and you need to use their time wisely.
Truly great teachers make the material seem both simple and profound, set

up mechanisms for students to learn from each other, and inspire students to