Teacher and a new student
Teacher: Why do you want to go to college?
Student: Because that is what my parents want.
Teacher: Why do you select Computer Science?
Student: Because my parents want me to study computer.
Teacher: What do you really want to study?
Student: I do not know, anything would be okay as long as it is not too difficult.
Teacher: Do you think Computer Science is easy?
Student: I do not know, but if it is too difficult, I may not like it.
Teacher: What is your educational goal?
Student: To get a degree.
Teacher: Why do you want a degree?
Student: I want to get a job.
Teacher: Then after getting a job, what do you want to do?
Student: If I get a job in the computer industry, I will make a lot of money.
Teacher: Do you know what working be like in the computer industry?
Student: I do not know, but as long as I am making a lot of money, I would be happy.
Teacher: You may have to work long hours, maybe 10 to 12 hours a day and occasionally some weekends too.
Student: It is OK as long as I get paid a lot of money.
Teacher: But there is a lot of stress. Computer job has a lot of pressure.
Student: But it pays more money. If it is a startup, I could have stock options too.
Teacher: Startup is hard, you have to work more hours under a lot of pressure.
Student: I do not mind, as long as I can be rich.
Teacher: But startup could fail too, as it is a high-risk business.
Student: Then I may not like to work for a startup, but working for a big company like Google is OK.
Teacher: Do you know what kind of skills that Google requires?
Student: I am not sure, but is it too early to think about it? After all, I am only a first-year student.
Teacher: OK, assume that you work for Google and making a lot of money then what do you want to do next?
Student: I only want to work there for a few years then switch job because I could get more money at the next job. Maybe Facebook would pay me more.
Teacher: OK, so you work for Facebook for a few years then what would be next?
Student: Then I would switch job again to get more money. Every time I change job, I could get more money.
Teacher: Of course, every company is willing to pay more based on what skills people can bring to them but do you think you have the needed skills?
Student: What skills? I already had a degree.
Teacher: Do you know that new technology is emerging as fast as others become obsolete. Switching job is not easy as you think. You must have the skills that they need. The fact is what you learn in school today may not be what the company needs in the future. Do you have a “Lifelong learning” attitude where you continue learning new things when they come?
Student: You mean I have to learn more? Why? I already had a degree.
Teacher: What if your skills are obsolete in the next few years, many things could change.
Student: But that is only a hypothesis, I hope things are not changing that fast.
Teacher: OK, let’s not talk about the future. But you have to study hard to pass my class.
Student: Is your class that difficult? How difficult is it?
Teacher: You need to spend at least two hours to study on your own for every hour in class. There are homework and quiz every week; I expect that you also read assignment before coming to class and spend time writing code too…
Student: But that is too much. Why do you make your class difficult?
Teacher: Do you think technology classes are easy?
Student: I do not know, but I only want something not too difficult. I am still young, and there are many other things I want to do with my life.
Teacher: What do you want with your life?
Student: There are many things that I want to do in college. Spending so much time to study is not what I expect.
Teacher: Then what do you expect?
Student: To learn something not too hard. I want to have more time to enjoy life.
Teacher: What do you think a college education is?
Student: I go to college so I can have more time with friends. More independent from parents. Maybe finding a girlfriend and enjoy life.
Teacher: But you do not need to go to college to do that.
Student: But my parents want me to go to college. They pay for my education, they give me money to spend, and all my friends are going there, and it could be fun.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
