I just hate this day and age. Everyone thinks they are the only person smart enough to know anything. Likewise, they all think they know everything. And since they know everything, they assume that anyone who asks a question doesn’t know squat.

Look at this quote. There was a post on Slashdot made by a man who works in the field of Computer Sciences and programming. This man was going to be giving a few 20 minute presentations to high school students about Computer Sciences and programming. He had a simple question: what should he talk to them about? He has talked to high school students before, however he noticed these students always want to talk about video game programming. He is simply looking for some help.

Many of the comments were sarcastic and only some were helpful. One comment ended with this:

An experienced teacher who knows their subject and their students will need 40 minutes to prepare for each 20 minute session. You know the subject, but you do not know the students and presumably you do not know how to teach (or you would not have asked Slashdot for input). So give yourself an hour to prepare for each 20 minute session, and use feedback from the first session to shape the second and third sessions.

Who the hell does this guy think he is? Just because the programmer asks for help that means he doesn’t know how to teach? Any teacher would tell you that learning isn’t just done by their students. Teachers learn on a daily basis as well… at least, the good ones do. Asking questions like this (wanting some insight into what a high schooler might want to know about programming, besides game development) just goes to prove this guy knows how to teach. He knows when to ask for help. He knows he needs to make some changes to keep up with his students. That makes him a good teacher.

If there are any teachers out there who never ask for help, they need to retire. They are doing their students a disservice by pretending they never need to ask for help.