Purpose: The argument is that good and bad teaching are asymmetrical. Eradicating what is readily thought of as bad teaching does not leave behind the purse gold of good teaching. Good teaching is that which promotes student learning. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between bad teaching and good teaching in graduate memories. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based in part on a survey of graduates from an earlier generation filtered through current theories of student approaches to learning. Findings: Graduates reflecting on their education describe good teaching and bad teaching in significantly different registers. There is almost no overlap in the vocabulary with which they describe the two. Originality/value: Graduates are a source of insight into the nature and value of quality education. The study offers some information about how articulate graduates think about their education 25 years later. Despite the years of public debate in Australia about higher education, this is one of the very few instances in which graduates have been invited to reflect on and speak about their experience as students. (Contains 2 tables.)