As I had mentioned previously, this year, I’m going back to school. Not to take classes, but to teach a course at my alma mater, Fanshawe College. I did this about a decade ago and thought it was interesting, so I was excited to give it another go. Additionally, after a friend mentioned that their kid wanted to learn Python, I developed an Intro to Python course aimed at high school students whom I’m teaching weekly. I thought that this would be good fodder for the State of Security. So, whenever I have something interesting to discuss, expect to find it here.

The end is nigh. On December 7th, I teach my last Python class, and on December 17th, we have our last Fanshawe class. Grades are due on December 23rd, and then I, once again, cease to be a professor. It’s not quite time to wax poetic, although I’m sure I’ll do just that in the final post of the series. Instead, I wanted to talk a bit about symbiotic relationships. I know, it’s a weird topic, but I promise I have a point.

Symbiosis

There are three types of symbiotic relationships I will consider – mutualistic, commensalistic, and parasitic.

There are many that would say that a teacher-student relationship is mutualistic or mutually beneficial. The student gains knowledge while the teacher is paid. Although, when you look at the level of pay associated with teaching, and there are a multitude of articles detailing how underpaid teachers are, you have to wonder if it is indeed mutualistic.

At that point, it may be commensalistic. The student benefits, while it is more-or-less a neutral experience for the teacher. Then again, you could look at those same articles that discuss how underpaid teachers are (Read more...)