"Tman" x@x wrote

I've had a variety of CFI's and I find that flying with a 'hardass' may
not make your day but you sure learn a lot.

But have no doubt that you can learn _just_ as much from a highly competent,
demanding instructor, with a much more gentle teaching style, too.

Like Dan said, teaching is finding out how your student learns best, and by
using a variety of techniques, you will be able to find out how your student
learns best.

I'm not surprised that a prospective military candidate does well with a
firm, demanding hand, with a bit of colorful language thrown in. The same
technique applied to a 40 year old housewife would probably not be quite
appropriate. g

Of course, an instructor can not be something he is not, and teach in a way
that he can not relate to. It would still be a surprise to me, that any
instructor could be effective and use the same exact teaching style with
_every_ student.

It has always seemed to me that the very best teachers have a gift to be
able to teach almost without thinking about what will work best for each
student. That gift combined with good command of the subject being taught
results in an effective teacher, able to maximize the learning taking place,
no matter the student, as long as the student is receptive.
--
Jim in NC