FAQ or Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What style or format are your classes? How do you handle them?
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A: I encourage interaction and use the Socratic method in as much as possible - meaning I would prefer to provide some information and then ask questions to help students come to conclusions themselves instead of just teaching students facts. I am open, empathetic, and kind in how I handle students, but I am also organized and disciplined in keeping the class moving to cover the class content. Feel free to take one of the free classes if you'd like.
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The class dynamics are generally as follows. Students will learn by listening, watching, thinking, and talking...by engaging with the teacher and with each other. The beginning of the class will involve a brief welcome to the course as well as voluntary student introductions, in order for everyone to have the opportunity to introduce themselves.
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Topics will be given by the teacher, explained, and then the students will be encouraged to ask questions about the topic. Cases and examples will be given and talked through, and students will be asked to use reason and logic to arrive at sound conclusions. Illustrations for concepts, when used, will be presented by the teacher on PowerPoint Slides, videos or other media. All student questions are welcomed and I will encourage questions to be asked in a polite, orderly manner.
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I hold parent-friendly sessions, meaning I don't exclude parents from attending my classes. Some online learning providers have strict policies against a parent's being involved in the class or even observing the class. Concerned parents should wonder why they would have such policies. I do ask that parents please keep questions or comments to a minimum, as the class is for the student to learn.
Q: What are your primary principles regarding teaching students?
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A: First is caring about the student's grasping and understanding the concepts taught. I endeavor to make concepts that can be relatively complicated, simple. If the students don't understand what I teach, then I am failing as a teacher (assuming the students are at the right maturity/intellectual ability level for the content being delivered).
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Second, my having a passion for what I teach means I believe what I teach is meaningful to people's lives, thus it is very important to connect the concepts taught to real life. If a student cannot see how something applies to their life, then I would say the teacher or content is failing.
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Third, I strive for objectivity. To be objective means to try and remove personal bias from one's views and thus attempt to let logic, facts and truth guide my teaching conclusions. This is in contrast to the many teachers who have a bias that they are unwilling to evaluate in the light of reason.
Q: What do you do if you have only one student enrolled in a course when the course is starting?
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A: I reserve the right to cancel a course if there are less than three student's enrolled. This does not mean I always will. I will often teach a course with two students, and sometimes teach a course with only one.
Q: My child has taken online classes before and one of the most frustrating aspects was other students who were disruptive. What do you do about disrespectful or disruptive students?
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A: I provide up to three escalating warnings, and then shut them out of the class if the warning(s) are not heeded. Rude, disrespectful, disruptive behavior, or vulgar language is not tolerated.
Q: What is your refund policy?
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A: I try and be generous. If signing up for a class was a genuine mistake or some emergency happened prior to class that would prevent a student from attending, then I would provide a full refund. If a student withdraws from a class for a legitimate reason after attending a few classes, I would offer a prorated refund. For example, if you sign up for a course with 6 classes and do not attend the last 3 classes due to a legitimate reason like a family emergency, I would offer a 50% refund. However, using up an enrollment space in a class with a limited number of spaces, and then 'changing your mind' (not a legitimate reason) after attending 1 class, I would only offer a 20% refund. There is a lot of information about the classes on this web site as well as free trial classes, so please be certain about taking the course before you enroll.
Q: Given the nature of some of these classes, what perspective or view or beliefs do you have?
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A: I try very hard to be objective and come from a perspective of reason, logic, and moral objectivism. I think you would find me to be one of the most objective people you know.
Some of my positions would be considered conservative, and a few of my positions would be considered "liberal". In general, I don't think labeling people is helpful, so I try and avoid it. I want to discuss issues and WHY an idea/rule/policy makes sense or does not make sense. Labeling people is often a logical fallacy and is seldom helpful. Let's talk about ideas and why they are right or wrong, true or false, helpful or unhelpful. For example, leading a statement with, "The Republican party..." or "The Democratic party..." will likely be followed up by a statement committing a sweeping or hasty generalization fallacy.
I do not refer to, nor endorse political parties. If a student refers to a political party or a politician in a course where that would likely be a topic encountered, I will typically respond with something like, “My experience is that most political parties have decent people who affiliate with them. We should focus on the issues, not on individual personalities or political party labels...to focus on personalities or party labels is one of the great errors of our day...let's talk about the issues and how to solve problems."
From an existential point of view, I am a person of faith and look to Jesus of Nazareth for my existential and ethical understanding of life. I am not part of organized religion so I don't have any allegiance to a Christian church or denomination nor do I push sect or denominational doctrines. I get along fine with agnostics and non-aggressive atheists, and sometimes better than with religious folks who are dogmatic with doctrines that don't pass the test of reason.