

Codecademy introduces Course Creator - chrisaycock
http://www.codecademy.com/creators

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richardburton
The best minds can teach. I started learning Ruby at a class from Jim Weirich
and Joe O'Brien in Edinburgh. I arrived without any programming knowledge
whatsoever. The rest of the class were all experienced programmers looking to
dive into Ruby. Instead of seeing me as a lead weight around their ankles, Jim
and Joe often asked the class to try and explain things to me after they had
explained it to them. That actually helped the other students because they had
to make sure they had taken in what they were taught. It really helped me
because I was thrown in at the deep end. Thanks to them I am able to build
things for myself, for others and for fun. More importantly, I hope that I
will be a better employer of engineers when I start my next company. I hate
the phrase: "those who can't, teach". I think the opposite is true.

~~~
mhartl
I don't think it's the opposite—there are many who "can" who can't teach. (I
say this based in part on seven years of taking physics courses at Harvard and
Caltech. Trust me: some of the most brilliant physicists absolutely _suck_ in
the classroom.) That said, Jim and Joe are clearly exceptional in both
respects—guys who can _do_ , and who definitely can _teach_ as well.

~~~
archgoon
Do you think it was because they were uninterested in teaching, or were
earnest but inept at communicating concepts that were already firmly
established in their minds?

(My pardon, I meant to upvote you, but clicked wrong. :( )

~~~
mhartl
While apathy certainly explains many mediocre instructors, I know for a fact
that some outstanding scientists desperately want to be good at teaching but
just don't have the magic touch. As a mathematician might put it, knowing the
material is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for being able to
explain it.

~~~
squasher
It's not a magic touch, it's a learnable skill.

A skill that's damn hard to learn and takes years of dedication,
introspection, and humility, but learnable nonetheless.

~~~
mhartl
So is playing basketball, but we can't all be Earvin Johnson.

