Often we have a misconception of the relationship between ourselves as students and our instructors. Frequently we feel it's "us versus them", and too often it seems the instructors view things the same way. This is detrimental to the learning process. It also leads to a rift in communication between students and instructors. The function of an instructor, however, is not to become a thorn in our flesh. The instructor, rather, is to fulfill the role of a trusted servant who leads his or her charges (that's us) down the pathway of knowledge to the place where we intelligent and hard-working students can become competent veterinarians. The fact that few of us stray from this path is testimony to the abilities of instructors to keep our goal in mind. It may even be that the success of these "institutions of higher learning" which we attend may be due to the instructors spending many long hours in their ivory towers gazing out over the pathway of knowledge looking for potholes to fix and detours to avoid so we can work unhindered (unhindered, at least, by the teacher).