I'm reminded, however, of the line that Sally Field delivers in Murphy's Romance, when explaining the process of cleaning a horse's teeth:
"Some horses resist this procedure..."
ROFL.
Indeed. What an understatement. A great many students 'resist' Socratic methods in the same manner. It feels uncomfortable and frightening to older students that have always been told WHAT to think to suddenly be asked questions by a teacher, rather than "told" answers.
I learned to gently stop and look students in the eye and say; "You have to trust me. I'm leading you in the right direction, but you have to go with it for a bit to get there, okay? It takes a little longer this way, but it's worth it because it teaches YOU how to be the expert at tackling problems-- not just this problem."
