[dkarl]

There has to be a balance. Usually in work meetings it is not so bad, because the groups are smaller and people asking questions are a bit older and more socially mature, and they can judge from people's reactions when their questioning should be taken outside the meeting, but in college lectures it can be absolutely devastating when there are a few underprepared or inattentive students who convince the lecturer to run the entire class at their pace so they can put in less effort outside the classroom. A teacher doesn't have to be cruel, but they absolutely should politely but firmly turn aside persistent questions that indicate that the student has not done the reading or does not have a grasp of the prerequisites. I sat through several classes in college where the professor decided to spend the first eight hours of lectures in a physics class, for example, reviewing basic calculus or linear algebra. That's an insult to students who have prepared for the class and showed up expecting to be taught physics, especially when there are plenty of seats in the calculus and linear algebra classes for students who need to learn that material, and it adds insult to injury when the final exam for the class is consistent across different lecture groups, and your lecture group is handicapped by skipping or rushing through the difficult material at the end of the semester.