The 'tude

WOW it was a hot time in class today. I have a new instructor. There are eleven students in the class. The class is very diversified; American, Canadian, Chilean, Indian (from the country of India); nine men and two women.  That much testosterone in the room and it was going to eventually explode. 

Should it be surprising that there are many, very confident, smart people in the room?  The instructor is a primary designer of the educational material that is used in the class.  He works as a partner but also is one of the key instructors.  He has a definite teaching style.  He likes to lecture through the information and take questions only during designated times.

Our former instructors were the “interrupt and ask questions” style so the class is having a bit of a time adjusting.  It didn’t take long for one dominant male in the front of the class to push the buttons of the dominant teacher.  If they were women, I’d say there was a cat fight.  But I guess it was more like a couple of male dogs pissing on their territory. 

Yes, the rest of the class managed to learn a few things between outbreaks.  The instructor is good at what he does.  Ironically, the other man, although very smart was highly distractive with the way he asked questions and diverted the other instructors away from the focus of the lesson. 

I was a bit worried as the instructor began teaching today as I recognized he and I both shared a lot of similar characteristics.  Maybe because I was conscious of the fact it made it easier for me to deal with.  The instructor and I are getting along very well.  In fact there have been a few times that I’ve gotten the “knowing” look.  He’s asked a few questions and specifically told me not to answer.  From previous answers, he knew that I knew the answers.  Like I needed a confidence boost. ;^)