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One of the inherent problems with the professorial (as opposed to mentorial) approach to teaching is that the first lesson learned is: "He is the expert; I am the child, the ignorant one."
Degree of knowledge becomes identity--the child has no trust nor respect for the process of learning, because he is seldom familiarized with the process the teacher went through.
There is a well-guarded mystique that the teacher somehow just "knows" and a chosen gnostic few will someday "get it." Most students never witness the labor the master has gone to nor are they schooled in the processes that bring expertise and mastery.
The student learns to label himself, "I'm just no good at math," or "singing," as if it were good justification for never applying himself.
The mentor who shares her love for learning and willingness to submit to the labor that is the process of acquiring mastery, will communicate the value of persevering through difficulties and trusting that ignorance and confusion must ultimately give way to knowledge and understanding.
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Mentors, not Professors
