ABSTRACT
Being good latter-day pupils of Socrates, we must press the question, 'What is "excellence"?' And we'll begin, as most of Socrates' pupils would have done, by seeing if we can identify the hallmarks of excellence in the context of Vocational Training. We know that some fortunate Trainees at the end of their apprenticeship appear to bear these hallmarks. But are they in fact teachable? The teacher's task-defining question has to change. No longer is it a question of 'How on earth can we instil excellence?' The teacher needs to ask instead, 'How can we create a learning environment where the release of native excellence can take place freely, without distortion or inhibition? Is there anything we might inadvertently be doing which is frustrating pupil's natural development?' To teach in these areas means to stimulate, to allow, and then – to get out of the pupil's way.
