if there's someone better than you available to teach, you have a responsibility to give the task to them - anything less would be robbing the students of that potential knowledge and experience.
"available to teach" is a somewhat slippery phrase. Does someone count as "available" if they're already over-committed with existing responsibilities and can't really take on anyone new? What if they're a bit burned out on teaching and want to take a break? What if they're busy teaching *other* things?
"better" is also tricky. Not all students are best served by the same sort of teaching. There exist students who get all intimidated and flustered by "experts" (especially older male ones), who might be better able to learn from someone like you.
A teacher can teach more than one student at a time, but not an infinite quantity, nor in an infinite variety of ways. If you refuse to step up, then you are "robbing the students" of *your* considerable knowledge and experience.
Remember also that growing up in Carolingia gives you a skewed view of the world. It is proverbial -- because manifestly true -- that a Dancer in Carolingia is a Dance Master in most of the rest of the Known World. And you're well above average for Carolingia. High standards are good, but don't take them to ridiculous extremes. As Cariadoc often says "Do not let the best be the enemy of the good."
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Mentoring
Date: 2007-06-11 05:59 pm (UTC)"available to teach" is a somewhat slippery phrase. Does someone count as "available" if they're already over-committed with existing responsibilities and can't really take on anyone new? What if they're a bit burned out on teaching and want to take a break? What if they're busy teaching *other* things?
"better" is also tricky. Not all students are best served by the same sort of teaching. There exist students who get all intimidated and flustered by "experts" (especially older male ones), who might be better able to learn from someone like you.
A teacher can teach more than one student at a time, but not an infinite quantity, nor in an infinite variety of ways. If you refuse to step up, then you are "robbing the students" of *your* considerable knowledge and experience.
Remember also that growing up in Carolingia gives you a skewed view of the world. It is proverbial -- because manifestly true -- that a Dancer in Carolingia is a Dance Master in most of the rest of the Known World. And you're well above average for Carolingia. High standards are good, but don't take them to ridiculous extremes. As Cariadoc often says "Do not let the best be the enemy of the good."