I'd say it's even more condescending not to tell them they need a teacher.
The only way one gets to be intelligent is to be willing to climb other people's mountains. As a teen I climbed Dylan's mountain, and Jagger's. That's what reading and listening are, to at least some extent: handing yourself to the hands of another and then embarking on their journeys, on the way to your own. I'm not sure what to do with people who seem to be smart but won't do that. But a good teacher can be a huge help, in motivating us but also in giving us footholds and directions, while still leaving the climbing to us.
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I'd say it's even more condescending not to tell them they need a teacher.
The only way one gets to be intelligent is to be willing to climb other people's mountains. As a teen I climbed Dylan's mountain, and Jagger's. That's what reading and listening are, to at least some extent: handing yourself to the hands of another and then embarking on their journeys, on the way to your own. I'm not sure what to do with people who seem to be smart but won't do that. But a good teacher can be a huge help, in motivating us but also in giving us footholds and directions, while still leaving the climbing to us.