In article ,
Commodore Joe Redcloud wrote:

The major differences between trying to learn from books and having
an instructor, are that with an instructor, you will learn much
faster,

Some people learn "faster" from books, particularly since that can be
done at home -- off the water. In my case, the transition from reading
to doing has always often been short.

and when you don't understand something after reading everything
about it in the book, an instructor can use additional information,
and even demonstration to explain it to you in a way that you can
understand it.

Full agreement.

But if the instructor has to give the full background that some can pull
from a book, that's wasted lesson time.

Reading, talking and doing should be mixed in a balance tailored to the
individual students. The original poster and I can do fairly well with a
stronger bias towards study than some.


--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/