You really think you're better than me, don't you?

Superiority complexes are difficult things - for all involved. It's not easy being convinced that you're better than everyone else. Nor is it easy to have others convinced that they are better than you.

I've probably been on both sides in my short lifetime. Today I was on the receiving end twice in the one day, and it wasn't the most enjoyable experience. On both occasions, it was a student who thought they knew more than me, and I found it strangely unsettling, perhaps because, on each occasion, the student managed to pick an area of my job where I don't feel entirely confident: assessment. All it took, really, was a slightly supercilious look and a raised eyebrow, and I found myself getting defensive - inwardly, even if I (hopefully) didn't let it show outwardly.

No doubt more confidence in myself would help. I'd be less inclined to feel threatened by these challenges to my professional knowledge. But today's experiences also reminded me of a slightly arrogant (although very polite) student who was convinced that he knew most things on most topics, and everything when it came to English, who gave a few of his teachers his fair share of supercilious looks and raised eyebrows. If I could see those poor teachers today, I'd let them know how sorry I am. Because, even if there were occasions when I caught them out in making a mistake, that didn't show that I knew more than them. In fact, my eagerness to pull them up on the slightest discrepancy showed how little I knew about teaching, and about life.

Let my students think they know more. I for one should know better than to let them upset me.