ABSTRACT
Although results are often seen as the ultimate measure of a course, there is one further general aspect that needs to be considered. Teaching and learning are not easy. By definition, they are trying to press forward into some state or condition that did not exist previously: knowing or understanding something that one did not know or grasp before, being able to do something that one could not do in the past, becoming aware of something that hitherto was unconscious or hidden from one. Experiencing and bringing about such changes can be a real challenge for both parties. But it should still be a positive experience, one that (at a minimum) people do not regret, that hopefully leaves them further on in some perhaps indefinable way, and with an appetite for more. When they finish a course, students may decide that they do not want to pursue that particular subject any further, but they should not feel that it was a waste of time, or have been alienated by it or wish never to set eyes on the teacher again.
