Tom Clancy on the Michael Reagan Radio Talk Show

[z edge]

I heard this tonight on The Michael Reagan Radio Talk Show, I wanted to share it with you.

It is a comment made by famous author Tom Clancy ( The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and many more ) and I found it interesting.

Michael Reagan: "What do you worry about America?"

Tom Clancy: "I don't worry about America as long as the average guy driving a truck is smarter than a Harvard professor"

I found that to be an interesting statement, what about you? Do you have a professor that is inept or ineffective to the point that he/she is a hindrance to your studies?

 

[Bonochick]

I'm lucky that I have encountered so many great instructors while at college. My biggest complaint is that some know so much about their topic that they tend to forget many of us go into those classes not even knowing the basics, and they go over things that they find to be simple too fast for us to fully grasp it.

 

[z edge]

Bonochick, I am glad that in your personal experience your instructors are very knowledgeable and competent. That is the way it ought to be.


However, I am sad that you are the only one in FYM that seems to have attended/currently attending college and can offer opinions on this.

Thank you.

 

[Bonochick]

OMC, it seems everytime I reply to a FYM thread, it dies.

*should maybe just stick to LS*

 

[speedracer]

Michael Reagan: "What do you worry about America?"

Tom Clancy: "I don't worry as long as long as the average guy driving a truck is smarter than a Harvard professor"

Hey now, I resemble that remark.

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

Do you have a professor that is inept or ineffective to the point that he/she is a hindrance to your studies?

::lurks back into FYM:: :is impressed by new range of emoticons:

I'm a university student so I thought I'd try answering this. I don't know if this is the case in all US universities, but here in the UK our universities tend to be very research-oriented. That means the professors/lecturers who teach students don't only teach, a huge part of their job is their research. I think that means that occassionally lecturers aren't very skilled at passing on information to their students, maybe because their style of lecturing is difficult to follow or because they select material which is too difficult or too simple for their students. Students might find it hard to learn from those lecturers but that's definitely not because those lecturers are unintelligent or poorly educated, it's not a lack of knowledge so much as a difficulty in passing that knowledge on to students.

In short, I've never been taught by a lecturer who I thought wasn't extremely intelligent (hey, they have a PhD and I'm reading for a BA, I'm hardly in a position to criticise ) but I've sometimes had lecturers who weren't the greatest teachers in the world.

*Fizz

 

[z edge]

Re: Re: Tom Clancy on the Michael Reagan Radio Talk Show

Hey now, I resemble that remark.

lol, meaning that you drive a truck?

 

[speedracer]

Re: Re: Re: Tom Clancy on the Michael Reagan Radio Talk Show

lol, meaning that you drive a truck?

Heck no, I can't even drive stick. But part of my education in the Ph.D. program in mathematics at Harvard University includes lecturing for intro-level courses (calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, etc).

Personally, I don't think it takes a whole lot of talent to be a good teacher in college/university (though it definitely takes talent and desire to be a *great* teacher). If you can remember what difficulties you had learning such-and-such a subject, anticipate questions that might come up in class, and spend enough time preparing for lectures, you can be a good teacher.

 

[LOVE MUSCLE]

Re: Re: Tom Clancy on the Michael Reagan Radio Talk Show

::lurks back into FYM:: :is impressed by new range of emoticons:

I'm a university student so I thought I'd try answering this. I don't know if this is the case in all US universities, but here in the UK our universities tend to be very research-oriented. That means the professors/lecturers who teach students don't only teach, a huge part of their job is their research. I think that means that occassionally lecturers aren't very skilled at passing on information to their students, maybe because their style of lecturing is difficult to follow or because they select material which is too difficult or too simple for their students. Students might find it hard to learn from those lecturers but that's definitely not because those lecturers are unintelligent or poorly educated, it's not a lack of knowledge so much as a difficulty in passing that knowledge on to students.

In short, I've never been taught by a lecturer who I thought wasn't extremely intelligent (hey, they have a PhD and I'm reading for a BA, I'm hardly in a position to criticise ) but I've sometimes had lecturers who weren't the greatest teachers in the world.

*Fizz

Very well Fizzing, that is a nice prospective. I like your answer as it reminded me of Dr. Jones- that is Indiana Jones. He was not really a "teacher" but he really did the research.

I know its only movies, though.

Good luck in your pursuit for excellence!

 

[LOVE MUSCLE]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Tom Clancy on the Michael Reagan Radio Talk Show

Heck no, I can't even drive stick. But part of my education in the Ph.D. program in mathematics at Harvard University includes lecturing for intro-level courses (calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, etc).

Personally, I don't think it takes a whole lot of talent to be a good teacher in college/university (though it definitely takes talent and desire to be a *great* teacher). If you can remember what difficulties you had learning such-and-such a subject, anticipate questions that might come up in class, and spend enough time preparing for lectures, you can be a good teacher.

Lol for some reason I thought he meant pickup truck. I don't know that he didn't. It would be nice to have an elaboration on his statement, I can only guess.

Why he picked on Harvard?

 

[speedracer]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Tom Clancy on the Michael Reagan Radio Talk Show

Lol for some reason I thought he meant pickup truck. I don't know that he didn't. It would be nice to have an elaboration on his statement, I can only guess.

Why he picked on Harvard?

I thought that he meant an 18-wheeler (which are all manual transmission) and that he was comparing teamsters with Harvard profs. I could be wrong though; there's a first time for everything.

 

[U2Bama]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Tom Clancy on the Michael Reagan Radio Talk Show

teamsters

They are allegedly forming an alliance with Satan himself, President Bush.

 

[melon]

I might have a full-time job at Harvard in the near future. Wish me luck!

 

[LOVE MUSCLE]

I might have a full-time job at Harvard in the near future. Wish me luck!

Good Luck!

 

[speedracer]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Tom Clancy on the Michael Reagan Radio Talk Show

They are allegedly forming an alliance with Satan himself, President Bush.

Yeah, I heard something about a Satanic ritual being performed at Giants Stadium in the near future...