a new JIM KIRK?

[Jackson_Roykirk]

kirk easily could have been a student at the academy and at same later time when he was a lt. came back as an instructor.

considering he was a lt. at the time of the farragutt incident his being an instructor could have been post farragutt.
something like what happened to the farragutt with kirk blaming himself could have bought forth a change from being a cock sure rebel into the person described by gary mitchell.

I like your reasoning, Pookha. It makes perfect sense. A personal tragedy of that magnitude would very likely cause a shift in Kirk's attitudes.

this could be the type of thing Orci was referring to when he said [I'm paraphrasing] that things that seem to be very different now will be seen in the film as being very consistent with what could have happened in TOS.

such as: "why the hell is Kirk -- who is wearing a black shirt, which supposedly means he is at the Academy -- becoming Captain of the Enterprise over Spock?"

possible answer: "Kirk is a Lieutenant (or Lt. Cmdr.) who became an instructor at the Academy after the Farragut incident, and possibly outranks Spock."