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A Simple Survey: If I Take Care of Your Salary …

If I take care of your salary and let you do whatever you want to do, what would you do?

This was a question, I posed to a few students who signed up for my Introduction to Python class. There were seven of them (and three more expected to join later).

The answers came slowly. They don’t know me. They were not sure how to start. But they did, after a pause.

I want to help children learn.

She did not hesitate for a moment. She pretty much knew what she wanted. I was really thrilled.

I want to teach

Great. We need more of you, I thought. She said she was passionate about teaching.

I want to make every one know the name of my village.

This boy had a determined look. Like the others, he did not mention anything about getting a job or making money. I could how serious he was.

I want to become an entrepreneur. And a good one.

It is rare to see this among students learning computer programming. Yet, there it was. I was glad to hear that.

I want to just travel around the world and get to know people and places.

A very different tone. A very different voice. I have a friend who does this. And I always envied him.

This is a good starting point. I feel that I know them a bit better. I can tweak the course and the projects to help them get one step closer to their dream. A good challenge to have.  I know I am going to need lots of help.

6 thoughts on “A Simple Survey: If I Take Care of Your Salary …

    1. Thanks Manoj. Most of these college kids I meet are much deeper than my generation. When I was their age, I had no clue other than an ambition to become an engineer.

      1. I believe people like you have set us a moral : ‘Choosing engineering is just a path. And the journey we make for it matters. Every journey is and should be different. Intended!’ So we follow the paths and make our own journeys. 🙂

        1. Thanks Manoj. Make your journey sounds pretty good. Believe me, meeting others along the way is almost as much fun as the journey itself.

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