Inspiring Teaching

Driving in to work this morning, I realized that because of or despite my "rotten teachers" I have been inspired by their model, learned a great deal along the way, and somehow from reading and textbooks and homework did get an education. Still, it would be nice if more of them were terrific.

I should note that I have made just about every mistake I describe, usually more than once, fully aware of what I was doing. Being told, "Martin, Martin, What are you doing?" seems not to have been effective.

You will encounter the Dumbassador from the Republic of Stupidistan. The Dumbassador is confident in his purpose and judgment, but in fact will destroy your whole operation. I encountered the term in a spy novel, describing Chiefs of Station in the CIA who inadvertantly destroy their operations while believe that their tradecraft was exemplary. They are moved from one country to another, there being no way to just relieve them of their duties. It's worse than tenure. I have yet to figure out how to handle such, but surely the best response to whatever they say or do is to ignore them completely, work around them, and if possible find a situation where the enemy will capture them.


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