A student lecture on Mistakes That I Have Made

摘要

To instruct senior students taking veterinary medicine, one has to be amusing. The seniors have gone to school for seven years or more and the lecture must be interesting to hold their attention. One gimmick that I used was to bring a mink into classroom and have the class vote on poor candidate to catch the mink. Invariably, they chose someone who was a little leery of biting dogs and scratching cats. Needless to say, when the student looked a seven-pound Pastel male mink in the eye, the student'smorale was not boosted. The demonstration always resulted in a good deal of fun and it gave the veterinary students a rapid impression that catching a mink in a pen for the first time was a real experience. This annual event was superseded only by a lecture that I gave entitled, "Mistakes That I Have Made." If anything attracts the students, it is to have the professor admit that he was wrong. This is not difficult for me - I will tell you about some instances.