[jacques_chester]

> Imagine college classes done that way - everyone would rightfully complain.

The tutorial method is thousands of years old, actually. I suspect that if one-on-one education was economically feasible it would be the model chosen almost every time.

Having paired with people who don't know what "if" and "for" mean in a software context clear through to individuals who've been in software for longer than I've been alive, I can only say that it works more often than not.

I often hear that pairing would be terrible at this, pairing must be dreadful for that, pairing wouldn't work for the other thing. What these have in common is that they are rejections based on mental simulation of events.

But ... I've actually paired. For years. It doesn't work for everyone but it still works for most people, so long as they learn it from an experienced pair.

It is frustrating to see a thing work, over and over, then be told you must be wrong, it can't possibly work.