Some misleading ideas and illusions

In my career as a teacher,  I have come across a few misleading ideas and deceptive views. I want to explain a bit my views:

1. Some education centres emphasize they are non-profit-making organizations; actually, they are profit-maximizing enterprises. Thus, look at what they do, not what they say in their websites.
2. Some teachers tell me they are capable and responsible teachers; they can tell you all the reasonable views about teaching quality and teaching competence; again, pay attention to what they do, not what they say. The espoused theories can be very different from the theories in use.
3. Some people can show you all the impressive qualifications that they have: if the person has a PhD, ask the person for any academic publications that the person has written; if the person has got good academic qualifications, ask the person to show you his/her dissertation report for a look (if feasible).

In short, one has to rely a lot on direct observation to make judgement on the professional competence and sense of responsibility of a person. And, I mean direct observation over a  period of time..


There are other misleading views that I have come across and want to respond:

1. If a student comes to the class late, it is possible that the student is not impolite. On the contrary, the student can well be very committed to learning.
2. If many of students do not turn up in class, as a teacher, you should not feel demotivated. You should still treat the few students who turn up as VIPs and deliver your lecture as best as you can.
3. Just because the education centres are poorly equipped and the students do no pay hefty fees does not mean that the students are not keen to learn nor that they are not intelligent.