Yoda Was Kinda Mean

"Do or do not.  There is no try."  -Yoda

I've seen this around for years and years and years and years.  It has been paraphrased all over the place, interpreted as having different meanings, depending on the context.
Here are some i.e.'s I see:

If you're going to fail, don't waste my time.

You either can or you can't, don't waste my time.

It's up to you, don't waste my time.

Trying is for losers, don't waste my time.

If you are unsure of your abilities, don't waste my time.

The learning curve is for sissies, don't waste my time.

Now, if Yoda, the Jedi Master of all masters, teaches this way...fine (because he's YODA and because he's muppet), but in real life, with real people, with real consequences, with real reality.... this is not cool.  Shaming, discouraging, and negative reinforcement are the teaching tools of bullies, the lazy and the incompetent.  Teaching is not a by-product of knowledge.  Just because someone is an expert in their field it is no guarantee they know how to teach it.
To teach is a skill (or talent) in and of itself.  Some people are naturals, some people learn it, some people are not good at it; just like singing, drawing, mechanics, languages, math, etc.  Teaching something based on your knowledge is an action performed.  It is what you say in answer to "Whacha doing?"  The two things are not mutually inclusive.  (i.e. just because you CAN do something does not mean you are good at it)
Is this all semantics?  Not in my world.  Not in the world where people's lives are altered because of that one teacher.  Not in the world where acceptance speeches are given and a TEACHER is most often thanked.  Not in my world, where my mother was a kindergarten teacher.  And who's former students, when realizing who I am, tell me how much they remember and loved her.  She died 27 years ago, so these are people who are long out of school.  So if a teacher can make a difference in a 6 year olds life, just think what a good teacher can do in an adult's life and what a bad teacher can do in a teenager's life.
So Mr. Yoda, big cultural icon master of all philosophy, I sure hope you didn't mean any of those things I listed above when you left your indelible stamp on the world. "Do or do not.  There is no try."   Because how will we know if we don't at least try?






i.e. id est, that is to say or in other words