Teaching Shannon part6
“No. Well, a girlfriend of mine who took this course last year
has been helping me with the homework. She got a B, so she really knows
what she’s doing.”
Sure, I thought. I said, “You’re doing all the homework?”
I knew she wasn’t; anyone who could do the homework could get at least
a C in the course.
She hesitated slightly, then said, “Well—I always try it, but
I usually can’t do it. If I knew where to start… .”
I had only been teaching for a little less than two years (one year
in grad school), but I had already heard this at least a thousand times.
What it meant was “I give each problem a look. If I can’t find an
example just like it in the book or my notes, or if it takes more than
…End of the part6. To be continued..