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Normally what happens is that the mentor will say, "Just stick with this approach that I prescribe, and you'll see benefits in the long run. You have to walk before you can crawl," etc., etc.
The protégé will be wondering, "Is this whole thing just a scam?" He wants to immediately jump into something interesting and meaningful, kind of like the sorcerer's apprentice wanting to immediately start playing around with getting brooms to carry buckets.
The problem is, a lot of mentorship programs ARE scams. But, there are also cases where patience really would pay off. Then there's a lot of stuff that's kinda in-between. E.g., going to university CAN have benefits, but only for some, and there's a lot more to it than just getting that degree.
This would be a non-issue, except that not everyone is talented enough to be able to grasp stuff on their own without help. If they were, mentors would be unnecessary. Also, a lot of people who really are talented at what they do have no interest in being mentors, so you can't really rely on the best people in a field for help, a lot of times. Or, even if they are the best at a field, they aren't necessarily good at imparting their knowledge to others; a common mistake, for instance, is to give the protégé too difficult of a training program, so that he gets discouraged and thinks he lacks potential. On the other hand, if it's too easy, then he can get bored and quit because he's not making enough measurable progress.
Another problem is that at some point the student will need to go beyond what he's been taught, to explore other areas that weren't covered in the tradition he received; but if he has an inclination to be that way, that's also the type of tendency that may distract from his studies while he's a student. The really obedient student will also probably be the type to, when he's done with his lessons, say, "Okay, now what?" rather than having initiative of his own.
The best students will probably be 99% autodidacts; in fact, in the tech world, quite a lot of the most successful tech guys dropped out of school because they didn't need all that instruction. School was just a place for them to meet their co-founder or get recruited by some company where they would be given access to a computer and some minimal introduction to the system, and then allowed to get straight to work and figure everything out on their own.
The guy who asks a lot of off-the-wall questions that show he lacks a basic understanding? I have yet to see cases where that guy gained a high level of proficiency. He might be capable of a low-medium level, though, if he goes back to easier tasks and works his way up with plenty of hand-holding.
If you're the kind of guy who needs a lot of structure (e.g. a classroom setting) to stay disciplined, what are you going to do when you're turned loose in the corporate world? Probably be lazy there too unless someone is keeping you focused. School is basically designed to show you have a minimal level of self-discipline, enough that you can go back to your room and study when there's an exam coming up, but not enough that you could just do your own self-study without the need for the framework of exam schedules and whatnot.
As for classes like math, if you have to get a tutor to teach you how to do everything, then you're gonna struggle to try to get a Fields Medal later, because there ain't no tutor for that.
The protégé will be wondering, "Is this whole thing just a scam?" He wants to immediately jump into something interesting and meaningful, kind of like the sorcerer's apprentice wanting to immediately start playing around with getting brooms to carry buckets.
The problem is, a lot of mentorship programs ARE scams. But, there are also cases where patience really would pay off. Then there's a lot of stuff that's kinda in-between. E.g., going to university CAN have benefits, but only for some, and there's a lot more to it than just getting that degree.
This would be a non-issue, except that not everyone is talented enough to be able to grasp stuff on their own without help. If they were, mentors would be unnecessary. Also, a lot of people who really are talented at what they do have no interest in being mentors, so you can't really rely on the best people in a field for help, a lot of times. Or, even if they are the best at a field, they aren't necessarily good at imparting their knowledge to others; a common mistake, for instance, is to give the protégé too difficult of a training program, so that he gets discouraged and thinks he lacks potential. On the other hand, if it's too easy, then he can get bored and quit because he's not making enough measurable progress.
Another problem is that at some point the student will need to go beyond what he's been taught, to explore other areas that weren't covered in the tradition he received; but if he has an inclination to be that way, that's also the type of tendency that may distract from his studies while he's a student. The really obedient student will also probably be the type to, when he's done with his lessons, say, "Okay, now what?" rather than having initiative of his own.
The best students will probably be 99% autodidacts; in fact, in the tech world, quite a lot of the most successful tech guys dropped out of school because they didn't need all that instruction. School was just a place for them to meet their co-founder or get recruited by some company where they would be given access to a computer and some minimal introduction to the system, and then allowed to get straight to work and figure everything out on their own.
The guy who asks a lot of off-the-wall questions that show he lacks a basic understanding? I have yet to see cases where that guy gained a high level of proficiency. He might be capable of a low-medium level, though, if he goes back to easier tasks and works his way up with plenty of hand-holding.
If you're the kind of guy who needs a lot of structure (e.g. a classroom setting) to stay disciplined, what are you going to do when you're turned loose in the corporate world? Probably be lazy there too unless someone is keeping you focused. School is basically designed to show you have a minimal level of self-discipline, enough that you can go back to your room and study when there's an exam coming up, but not enough that you could just do your own self-study without the need for the framework of exam schedules and whatnot.
As for classes like math, if you have to get a tutor to teach you how to do everything, then you're gonna struggle to try to get a Fields Medal later, because there ain't no tutor for that.
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