A Quote by Gunter Blobel

I'm always telling my students that if they can't explain what they are doing, to their grandmothers, then they probably don't understand it themselves. — © Gunter Blobel
I'm always telling my students that if they can't explain what they are doing, to their grandmothers, then they probably don't understand it themselves.
What is wrong with encouraging students to put "how well they're doing" ahead of "what they're doing." An impressive and growing body of research suggests that this emphasis (1) undermines students' interest in learning, (2) makes failure seem overwhelming, (3) leads students to avoid challenging themselves, (4) reduces the quality of learning, and (5) invites students to think about how smart they are instead of how hard they tried.
I guess I want people to see me and to try to explain myself, and you don't always get the chance. Sometimes you don't get the chance and maybe no one ever gets the chance to really explain themselves, to have people see them. But I guess I'm doing that or I'm in the process of doing that.
If you can't explain what you are doing to a nine-year-old, then either you still don't understand it very well, or it's not all that worthwile in the first place.
You'd have to put yourself back in the 1960s to understand how separate from the mainstream of American life soldiers felt themselves to be, because we knew that students and others were demonstrating pretty violently against what we were doing.
I realized that there are many people who are very good students, but they think of themselves as bad students. At the end of the day, what they are really missing is way to understand where their gaps are and a way to address those gaps.
I had a hard time convincing students that they were going to North Africa to understand the North Africans, not to understand themselves.
Whenever I felt down, whenever I started wondering what homeless shelter I would die in, [my mother] would buck me up by telling me: you know, Paul, the A students work for the B students, the C students run the companies, and the D students dedicate the buildings.
I would like, in my life, to always be doing things I'm proud of. I know that probably won't happen all the time. But I'd prefer to be telling stories I can be proud of and understand why they're being told. I do watch a lot of films and TV, but sometimes I think: "Why the hell did you make that then?" I won't say what they are though.
In some suburban schools, the curriculum is chock-full of rigorous A.P. courses and the parking lot glitters with pricey SUVs, but one doesn't have to look hard to find students who are starving themselves, cutting themselves, or medicating themselves, as well students who are taking out their frustrations on those who sit lower on the social food chain.
If you want to be a great leader, you have to put the interest of the country above your own. I would like to think that true leadership is not just telling people what they want to hear but helping them understand things, so you can explain to them what you think is best, and then they can judge you on that.
What I am going to tell you about is what we teach our physics students in the third or fourth year of graduate school... It is my task to convince you not to turn away because you don't understand it. You see my physics students don't understand it... That is because I don't understand it. Nobody does.
Teachers teach and students educate. Students are the only true educators. Historically, every other method of education has failed. Education occurs when students get excited about learning and apply themselves; students do this when they experience great teachers.
What I've learned is that everybody really wants to sell their story. No matter who they are, everybody feels that what they're doing is the right thing, and if they could only explain themselves to a reasonable person that understands them, then maybe they'll listen.
I've always been really interested in secrets - how people find ways of doing things without telling anyone else in order to keep themselves feeling safe in the world.
I always say, 'If you can't give a reason for the banana peel being in the alley, then don't have the comic slide over it.' Do you understand what I mean? First explain how the banana peel got there quickly. And then there's a reason for all the comedy.
The teachers were focused on helping these students. The students benefited from hands-on teaching and a faculty who cared about them and their success in life and soon the students began to believe in themselves and the reality that they could make something of their lives.
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