[Anonymous]

First of all, let me somehow attempt to assure you that this isn't a silly 13 year old who fancies her 'fit' student teacher. I'm 18 and he's probably mid-forties. I've always been a dedicated student and passionate about literature (which he teaches me). He is incredibly intelligent and a very good tutor, but a lot of my friends have observed and remarked on his treatment of me compared to his treatment of them. I've only had him September but here are some examples which has seemed, well, odd:

1) Our college does computer-generated reports, whereby the comments made by tutors are produced by the system and merely 'enter' the student's individual name into the comment. There are other passionate and equally dedicated students in my class, they..in fact the entire class received computer-generated reports but mine had been personally written by him.

2) The play we're currently studying, we read out in class - he gives people random characters to read. The first scene we did, I read a particular character and for the resultant three months we've been reading it for, he has always given me that character, saying how 'nobody else could read it' and 'I've made it my own'..when all I do is read it normally. Nobody else in the class has been given a regular character, just purely random.

3) I also study English Language which I have a different teacher for, but all the coursework I've ever produced for her I've found out he has also read. I mentioned to him about a piece of coursework that my language tutor had said there might be a problem with and he told me that he'd read it too, to which I jokingly replied 'Why is being passed around the staff room?!' and he just laughed and went 'No, not everyone. Only me.' Another tutor in the room who I had last year jumped in and said 'I read it over his shoulder.' and my tutor just shook his head, looked at me and just said 'No, he didn't.' (a little too seriously)

4) I was once sitting in the city with my friend on some seats and my tutor walked past and crossed the road (I had by back to him/hadn't seen him but my friend had). He then recognised me from behind and crossed back over the road to talk to me..literally about nothing really. He mentioned about jazz because he knows I like it and how he was going the pub or something.

There have been a lot of little minor things throughout class, such as he'll ask me at the end of the lesson if 'I have any closing comments'. Whatever that means! As if I'd have gone 'Yes, actually..' Another time he lent me a book from the staff room on what we're studying and gave nobody else a copy (when there are several). He'll often call me 'mature', 'insightful', 'sophisticated'. Once I went into the staff room to speak to my language tutor who wasn't there, I said I'd come back in twenty minutes but ended up staying there in conversation with him for half an hour until she returned. He seems to remember very obscure things that I've just fleetingly mentioned but forget other things from other students. I once mentioned that I couldn't see a performance because I had a 'family thing' on the same day and the following Monday he asked me how it went when I hadn't even said what it was. He'll remember particular poems or characters that I'm presenting/talking about but compeltely forget everybody elses..there was literally an occasion when he didn't know anybody's except mine.

Is this unusual or just a very good teacher/student relationship?

[LeaX]

I think he just might find it refreshing that you seem so interested in the subject and you both have something in common. I'm not sure about the rest of your class, but in my classes there'll always be the ones who are very into a subject and they'll often befriend teachers whilst the rest of us have just taken that particular class for the sake of it and don't show any intense interest for the subject.

[twinlensreflex]

It just sounds like a good student/teacher relationship really, I mean I have two teachers that are like that with me 'cos I'm passionate about that subject. We often get sidetracked talking about irrelevant things, which they then remember with amazing accuracy. I don't think there are that many students who genuinely enjoy/are passionate about a subject, so teachers tend to notice when one comes along.

[The Troll Toll]

This guy sounds like he has Kenny Loggins on speed dial.