His speech, given to students at Elizabethtown University, on the social contract between teacher and student, has some great insight into what teachers and students are about. The more we tell you, the less you learn. The more you learn, the more we teach. And learning takes place, in a country as practical and as rich in innovation as this country, when you find out for yourself. Professors are there to guide, to help, to goad, to irritate, to stimulate.
Students are there to explore, to inquire, to ask questions, to experiment, to negotiate knowledge.
The ideal teachers for our students therefore are people like Socrates, Jesus and Hillel, and what you have to ask of your professors is that they measure themselves by the model of Socrates, Jesus, and Hillel. Great teachers don't teach. They help students learn. Students teach themselves. Socrates was the greatest philosopher of all time, and all he did was walk around the streets and ask people irritating questions.