[TruePath]

Umm why? For the most part a professor is a talking text book that stands in front of the class. You can go download charismatic people with fancy approaches to the material online. However, I don't think this really makes much of a difference (choosing the right curriculum does though).

The one place I've seen professors have real impact is in their ability to both answer innovative and novel questions and convey a sense of excitement and interest in a subject. While these only affect a small fraction of any given class they are the important value add and they are what someone who is personally passionate about the field and deeply knowledgeable about it brings to the table.

Worse, what seems like "good teaching" can often reflect a counterproductive attitude to the subject.

Everyone I know who has become a mathematician has done so DESPITE (not because) of their pre-college teachers (some have had the good fortune to run into one or two exceptions but still struggled past teachers who attempted to ruin the subject). These teachers were chosen entirely for their teaching ability but to no avail since without the perspective of a research career they weren't teaching people how to duplicate a computer algebra system instead of understanding the math. Focusing on accurate symbol manipulation and memorization is in active tension with understanding but is an easier rote to solving the kind of problems you can ask on AP tests.

College students are big boys and girls. They can read the damn textbook if needed. I spent an entire semester at caltech (my most productive one) without attending a single class (I had my friends turn in my homework in section). However, having professors available who could accurately convey (through course content, discussion and even research projects) what a discipline was about was invaluable.

Let's give up the charade people and let professors play videos of better speakers in lecture but lend their expertise to answering questions and talking to students.