I try to position my students for success, rather than for
lessons in their limits, but I suspect the difference in our
perspectives is related to the fact that I last taught
undergraduates over 30 years ago.  I think I could be
comfortable with this approach if I knew the teacher would
be helping the students to understand their limits, rather
than leaving that for the students to discover.

Peter W. Schroth

Virginia Maurer wrote:
>
> Is the student giving legal advice, or just walking through a problem, doing
> his best, trying to get a feel for the lay of the land? In short, does it
> matter if the student gets it wrong, as opposed to simply learning to
> appreciate the complexity? I think of the papers I wrote as a history
> undergraduate. I shudder to think. I think it is a good thing for
> undergraduates to bite off overly ambitious projects and stretch themselves
> and learn their limits. It would not bother me that you wouldn't bet your
> company on their results.
>