"It is important that he does not show that he does not know his subject"

It seems to me that this will do more harm than good, because he does not know his subject. Since he does not know his subject, he eventually will slip, and might get caught in the act of lying. And if the students catch him lying, how can they trust him? Like i said before, honesty is the best policy.

"It is also important that he answers ALL of the questions asked by the kids"

While it is important to answer most of the questions - it is more important to know when to answer questions. Off topic questions and questions that will stump him should be overruled - "Let's talk about that after class." "I would love to answer that right now, but we only have 10 minutes left and the test is this Friday - besides, that won't be on the test anyway." He needs to be careful to not get caught in a pattern of wasting time entertaining each and every question/whim of the students, or nothing will be taught.

While i don't necessarily agree with your first two suggestions, i heartily agree with the third. A good teacher knows that she/he is a student as well, and can learn a thing or two from their students. Leave the ego at the door, it only gets in the way - but this goes for the students as well, cheap shots at the teacher to impress fellow students may gain you a bit of respect from them, but that respect lasts no more than the lifetime of the course. It just ain't worth it. (Kid Gloves, anyone?)

I myself was a bit of a 'self-taught whiz kid' (and an arrogant one at that) - my tool was an Apple ][+ back in 1986. These days however, whiz kids are much more abundant (and much more arrogant) thanks to items such as Windows and the Internet. I think that this teacher needs to identify the whiz kids on the first day of class and ask them to stick around after class - he should then explain to them in a most respectful manner that he is a newbie and needs their help. He needs to convince these talented kids that they will get more out of the class by supporting him instead of heckling him. Hopefully, there won't be any whiz kids. ;)

And yes, sometimes teachers will be called out and ridiculed if they expose that they do not know their stuff. In high school it happens because kids hate authority, but it is worse in college because the students are paying money. I have been a heckler myself - but it was me that lost in the long run, because even though a particular teacher/professor might not have been as knowledgable in the subject as i liked, i failed to 'make my own lemonade.' Now ... teachers/professors that don't care are a completely different matter - in high school, tough luck - but in college, drop. Wait till a better professor teaches if you can.

jeffa

Glad he is not in high school anymore. :)

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