ABSTRACT
Towards the end of his degree course the author's youngest son telephoned and asked if he could use the author's computer to produce his dissertation. When he arrived it became apparent that he intended to write the dissertation, rather than simply transcribe it. The author gave him a brief introduction to Microsoft Word and Windows 95. By the third day, however, he was making progress. By the fourth day he had worked out the layout, inserted footnotes and references and completed it. A number of years' ineffective teaching and failed learning at school had been transcended within a few days, simply because the task had to be completed. When the 'education' and 'learning' are used the assumption is that the transactions are mediated through the teacher to the learner. That's certainly true in a structural sense, and the author supposes that fact that people earn their living in the industry causes them to invest it with certain significance.
