Emotional Ramblings VS Practical Tips - Part 4

How we should all approach the situation

Sometimes, when we attend art lessons, we don't get to choose the art teacher. We're assigned to the teachers from day 1. Besides, it's more likely that we don't even know the teachers. So even if given a choice, we wouldn't know how to choose.

So what happens if we're assigned to a good teacher, but not a better teacher?

I think the attitude that we should all adopt is that regardless of the type of teachers we get assigned to, we should keep a healthy respect for all teachers.

Teachers, in whatever field, are noble people. Teaching in itself is a noble profession, and they deserve to be respected. So give them the respect, and learn from them.

In the course of my own education, I find that every book I read, every class I attended, I always get something out of it. Yes, even from the crappy books. Believe it or not, even crappy books have got one or two pieces of golden nuggets in them.

So don't think that your time is wasted. If you've attended the lessons or read the books, and gave them your full attention, I salute you.

We cannot avoid having just good teachers sometimes. But we sure can help improve the situation. Picture this scenario. The teacher gets it wrong and keeps telling boring stories at the wrong time. The students get bored eventually and start to do unwise things like skipping classes or complaining. The teacher watches the students' behavior, and gets de-motivated, and tells even more boring stories…or even worse, he stops trying. Now the students are like having no teacher, and they rebel even more, and the whole vicious cycle starts again.

So don't be part of that vicious cycle. Do your part and try to participate, even if the teacher is telling stories that are boring you to tears. I know it's hard, but often times, the hardest things to do are also the right things to do.

As for books, you have a better chance of choosing a good one. Teachers, you can't choose sometimes, but you can almost always choose good drawing books.

Many years ago, purchasing books online can be risky. There's no way for a customer to browse a book before buying. But that's history now. Amazon.com has got technology that allows you to browse sample chapters of the book before buying (just like me sending you a free sample chapter of my Home Study Course).

So now you can easily see whether the contents are all fluff, or is there real substance in the book that you're interested in.

Authors sometimes suffer from the same syndromes as teachers. They tell stories at the wrong time or they tell too many unrelated stories.

Sometimes, they do the direct opposite and tell no stories! Is that better, or worse? In my opinion, it's just as bad. So how can we separate the better books from the good ones?

First, there has to be some balance in the mix of content. This requires skills and experience from the author's part to find the right balance.

Second, the writing style should be conversational. Conversational style is one of the most effective forms of communication. The authors should be striving to let as many readers understand them as possible, and not strive to impress. In fact, I RARELY see authors of drawing books do that. Maybe the publishers frown upon this informal style of writing but hey, it works!

Third, the author should have some natural strength in the subject that he's talking about. In other words, he should be naturally good at whatever he's talking about, and have the persistence to pursue the areas of interest to deeper levels. Makes sense to you?