Attributes of a student

[kenkyusha]

Hi all,

This kind of ties in to Joe Svinth's question about students and teachers, but with all the talk of an ideal instructor, what do folks think of as the perfect deshi? Are the traits ones that will be noticable to fellow students, or just one's instructor(s)?

Be well,
Jigme

[Steve Williams]

An open mind and a desire to learn

[Chuck Clark]

An open mind, desire to learn, and commitment to the long term...oh, and courage!

[BrianV]

All of the above and the ability/desire to change.

[TommyK]

Greetings,

An Open Mind, A Desire to Learn AND the willingness to be an 'open cup'. One that can be emptied and then refilled. This implies discipline and a willingness to subjagate the ego.

Regards,
TommyK

[Joseph Svinth]

What, nobody agrees with Jerry Peterson of SCARS that the perfect student is one who pays five grand a week to be treated bad?

[gmellis]

Someone who serves the teacher's every whim and obeys me..er.. the teacher without question. Oh, and throw in those other traits mentioned above while you're at it.

[MarkF]

Ok, well, Joe found the "new site" and got there ahead of me.

Mark

[KenpoKev]

Excluding Joe's comment about the bloke who pays $5000 a week to be thrashed, all the above sound like the "easy student".

While it is nice to have willing, eager, humble students, they don't necessarily make you a better teacher. The students that have made me better were the one's that posed challenges to me. The teenaged Down's Syndrome girl that's stuck with it now for almost 2 years. The angry teenaged boy who might be in a youth correctional facility if I didn't devote energy to making him get control over himself. The 76 year old WWII Vet who wants to keep active, yet has severe physical disabilities.

The ideal student is the one who pushes YOUR envelope, to make you a better teacher. Just a thought.
Respectfully,
Kevin Schaller
MAFFR :)

[MarkF]

I will agree heavily with Kevin on this. I have never met a better teacher than a good student. Teachers don't seem to recognize this very often. The student is the best teacher.


BTW: Kevin, you are actually advertising your affiliation with MAFFR? I didn't know that the doors opend in that dojo. I will have to recheck my scale...er, membership.

[KenpoKev]

Opps,
Sorry that slipped out. It is supposed to be a secret order, so I probably just lost my membership.

On the Student-Teacher issue, we often desire one thing, when in fact, we would be much better served with something quite different. While there are times when I wish I had a few more students like those other's have described, I know that my purpose as a teacher lies elsewhere, as does what I need to learn.

[TommyK]

Greetings,

I thought I was one of only the select few to be inducted into the MAFFR, do you mean there are others?

I thought membership was like being awarded a military decoration, you have to have earned it!

Regards,
TommyK
MAFFR
Chunen Butori Ryu
Reg #: MAFFR-666-A005, 5/14/00