On 16/05/14 16:39, Jerry Stuckle wrote:
On 5/16/2014 10:34 AM, Brian Reay wrote:
On 16/05/14 14:53, Jerry Stuckle wrote:


And I'll never forget the time a friend (and fellow IBMer) of mine's
early teen daughter took a night course on computers (this was back in
the mid-late 80's). On the first night, the instructor held up a 5.25"
diskette and said "This is a floppy disk". The instructor then held up
a 3.5" diskette and said "This is a hard disk". The class was downhill
from there.

Such things are not uncommon Jerry. Some wannabe manages to secure a
post in local college (were qualifications are often not required to
teach) and last under a term. He may well end up leaving under a could,
probably with a letter to the Principal claiming some mal-practice on
the part of the college when, in fact, the wannabe was simply not up to
the job. He will forever claim to have teaching or lecturing experience.


Yes, unfortunately, you're correct, Brian. I've seen this all too many
times in night schools/adult education classes.

But then in their defense, the schools have their own problems. I got a
call from another school in the same area, wanting me to teach. They
were offering $15/hr. (this was early 90's) for actual class time; prep,
grading of papers, etc. were all on my time. They aren't going to get a
good instructor at that rate, even for night classes. But they also
have to keep their costs down so that classes are affordable to almost
everyone.

Rates for qualified maths specialists here, with a good exam result
history, is a lot more generous, if you want the work.