In an era where applicable knowledge is power, and experience is key it only makes sense that students be encouraged to learn their trade from those with the knowhow.
An aerospace engineering major would not decline help from their professor only to bang their head against a wall hoping to remember how much velocity it takes to generate lift. Most students will eagerly seek out their instructors precisely because they are knowledgeable and have experience in the field.
Yet when these individuals are indisposed, students must turn to information-heavy textbooks that are far from user friendly. For the most part, we can all attest that a great many of the required books are the literary equivalent of a brick wall.
More often than not we don’t learn what we need from these publications, or we‘re left confused and befuddled. For this reason colleges should encourage professors to sell their books and collected works on campus. Whereas textbooks are compiled essays and studies written by a menagerie of authors and published under a single title, individual works written by professors are more direct in their structure.
The simplicity that comes from reading a book written by a single author cannot be ignored or understated in its importance. There is a certain power of learning from one “voice.”
Instead of having to adjust to a multitude of writing styles presented by numerous authors students can hone in on one speaker-one direct flow of knowledge-and can do so without readying for a change in teaching methods.
In addition to the easiness of having a single speaker comes the comfort of actually knowing said speaker. It is my personal prerogative to take classes with professors who know the language of their field. Everything from the way an instructor interacts with the class to their individual personality is key to the learning experience. It has to be comfortable. This feeling can be found in the books professors write.
Students who are accustomed to a professor’s teaching patterns can digest the information in the instructor’s book with greater ease than when they are asked to read from a textbook. This isn’t just because of the familiarity though.
Professors spend the better half of their careers learning how to connect with students. They are influenced by us just as much as we are by them. As such they know how to speak in a way that we can understand even when the subject matter is tricky such as aerospace engineering or mathematics. Rather than bombarding us with varying key terms and random “critical thinking” exercises professors will tailor their books to fit a single subject. This way a student can learn with minimal confusion.
