frustrations and academic life
Hey...
This week has been one of the most demanding weeks of the quarter and of course frustrating too. Certain things always keep on bothering me when it comes to academic integrity. Why do people want to take up leadership positions in class when they neither have the potential nor the knack in dealing with things keeping in view the larger perspective.
One issue that constantly bothers me is the way the students in the US always or most of the times think that if they can take lead on the first day of a class etc...they become leaders of a group/class or whatever. They think they are in control if the situation..when they really are not...they always want to project themselves as the "face" of the group and put up a brave front...but in reality...it is a hollow attempt. I can understand one perspective of the students...who are probably fresh out of college and want to prove a point...they feel that they need to prove themselves and everything associated with that...but they fail to understand that leadership is not a position...it is responsibility and the capability that one has to earn. To think ably and provide guidance/way is the key. Unless they look at what they want to accomplish at the end of the day, they can not really come up with realistic goals and the road map to achieve the same. This kind of scenario always leads to colossal wastage of time especially of the whole group and leads to frustration among the group members. There's a lack of clarity and utter confusion.
One of the key marks of an able leader is to understand his/her own abilities and then proceed...leaders should know when to lead or when not to...leaders should know what to say (or what not to)...and how to convey the message...confidence building and encouraging the group members taking periodical stock of issues is also one of the key responsibilities of a leader. lack of any of these...would be a compromise to the "position". Of course there are plenty of other things that could be said about leadership...but I don't want to ...
The other issue I wanted to scribble about today is the quantum of work that people put up in a group work...many students feel that they have been working a lot and (probably true)...but there is a clear distinction in feeling that they are doing a lot and really doing a lot...this I think is the determining character of a grad student. If the students are confident that their work is comprehensive..they should be able to build a sound argument and case about the same...it is not about writing tons of information or just collating information...there should be a real value addition to the same and if there is not..then the product is insignificant. Quality of the product matters not the quantity...and even if students come up with a one page "defining" matter..it would be the single most important contribution to the study ...rather than 25 pages of "C@#$". How long does a work take? and how valuable is ones contribution of time to any work is also of significant importance here...one can spend weeks together collating simple information but the student has to realize the worth of the same...and have to justify the amount of work put in...I remember when I was working in a consultancy...(my first year in the US) my boss was probably frustrated with my progress and today (after almost 1-2years) I realize his view point...today I can ask myself: how long does it take to come up with a survey with 10 questions? when you have a ready reckoner with you or if you are just copying/improving a survey at hand...the answer is:20 minutes..and how long did you take to incorporate it into a survey monkey? 2 hrs...so total time? 3 hrs..including finding the reckoner etc. If I am right I took close to 1 whole day the other time...but I had to "think" as to how a question would really translate into a quantifiable response!. In reality some students take 5 weeks! GREAT...
My boss said to me while I was leaving the internship, In the world of consulting "time is money" and if you can not perform in the least amount of time and still achieve the set objectives...you perish...(no further consulting opportunities)...it is always efficiency against cutthroat competition. He told me that a paper targeted during my internship period did not materialize, that was the only regret he had. I wondered why did he let me know the same? To myself, I technically could not account to around 40-60 hours of time (or more?) in the course of 11 weeks or 11X40 = 440 hrs (yes around 10% or more)...and when bidding for a job @$50/hr...this would lead to a min of S2,000 - $3000 loss on paper and say 30% of it in reality...which was roughly my pay. I however did not admit that it was my fault..guilt obviously precludes honesty...but I think if the same task was/is given to me today....I would have probably have achieved the same...I think this is where the concept of "experience" kicks in and understanding of the larger ball game also comes in. I can now relate to some of my frustrations with my group in terms of time management and deliverables...to probably what my boss felt the other time but was kind enough not to let me know.
Since I talked about frustrations ...I want to write a bit about the same. the frustrations of working in groups is I think minuscule when compared to those associated with the academic life and the role of professors/instructors in creation of the same...so I will concentrate on the latter...Expectations of professors while dealing with the students have to be reasonable and purely academic in nature...they should be clearly conveyed in the beginning and there should be no detours in the program...based on the whims and fancies...like...oh you know what...I saw a program yesterday on something...hence we will change the direction of the project in light of that ...(yes flexibility is required..and desirable) but 3 weeks down the lane when there has been substantial change in the direction of the work when compared to the original objectives has been achieved...it is too unrealistic to expect to still meet the initial objectives of the project @ hand. You cant have both ways...and cant achieve everything... in a limited set of time...
I can go for ages on this..but the set time of an hour has already passed and I've already devoted approximately 20 minutes to Big B...today...so let me just stop here...
This blog...probably is very personal and reflects my vent of anger/frustrations on the system in an easy way and a way that is not vindictive.
Thanks for bearing with me
chao
Avadhani
ps: I'm heading to a vacation and will probably not be able to blog for some time...but will be BACK!...
This week has been one of the most demanding weeks of the quarter and of course frustrating too. Certain things always keep on bothering me when it comes to academic integrity. Why do people want to take up leadership positions in class when they neither have the potential nor the knack in dealing with things keeping in view the larger perspective.
One issue that constantly bothers me is the way the students in the US always or most of the times think that if they can take lead on the first day of a class etc...they become leaders of a group/class or whatever. They think they are in control if the situation..when they really are not...they always want to project themselves as the "face" of the group and put up a brave front...but in reality...it is a hollow attempt. I can understand one perspective of the students...who are probably fresh out of college and want to prove a point...they feel that they need to prove themselves and everything associated with that...but they fail to understand that leadership is not a position...it is responsibility and the capability that one has to earn. To think ably and provide guidance/way is the key. Unless they look at what they want to accomplish at the end of the day, they can not really come up with realistic goals and the road map to achieve the same. This kind of scenario always leads to colossal wastage of time especially of the whole group and leads to frustration among the group members. There's a lack of clarity and utter confusion.
One of the key marks of an able leader is to understand his/her own abilities and then proceed...leaders should know when to lead or when not to...leaders should know what to say (or what not to)...and how to convey the message...confidence building and encouraging the group members taking periodical stock of issues is also one of the key responsibilities of a leader. lack of any of these...would be a compromise to the "position". Of course there are plenty of other things that could be said about leadership...but I don't want to ...
The other issue I wanted to scribble about today is the quantum of work that people put up in a group work...many students feel that they have been working a lot and (probably true)...but there is a clear distinction in feeling that they are doing a lot and really doing a lot...this I think is the determining character of a grad student. If the students are confident that their work is comprehensive..they should be able to build a sound argument and case about the same...it is not about writing tons of information or just collating information...there should be a real value addition to the same and if there is not..then the product is insignificant. Quality of the product matters not the quantity...and even if students come up with a one page "defining" matter..it would be the single most important contribution to the study ...rather than 25 pages of "C@#$". How long does a work take? and how valuable is ones contribution of time to any work is also of significant importance here...one can spend weeks together collating simple information but the student has to realize the worth of the same...and have to justify the amount of work put in...I remember when I was working in a consultancy...(my first year in the US) my boss was probably frustrated with my progress and today (after almost 1-2years) I realize his view point...today I can ask myself: how long does it take to come up with a survey with 10 questions? when you have a ready reckoner with you or if you are just copying/improving a survey at hand...the answer is:20 minutes..and how long did you take to incorporate it into a survey monkey? 2 hrs...so total time? 3 hrs..including finding the reckoner etc. If I am right I took close to 1 whole day the other time...but I had to "think" as to how a question would really translate into a quantifiable response!. In reality some students take 5 weeks! GREAT...
My boss said to me while I was leaving the internship, In the world of consulting "time is money" and if you can not perform in the least amount of time and still achieve the set objectives...you perish...(no further consulting opportunities)...it is always efficiency against cutthroat competition. He told me that a paper targeted during my internship period did not materialize, that was the only regret he had. I wondered why did he let me know the same? To myself, I technically could not account to around 40-60 hours of time (or more?) in the course of 11 weeks or 11X40 = 440 hrs (yes around 10% or more)...and when bidding for a job @$50/hr...this would lead to a min of S2,000 - $3000 loss on paper and say 30% of it in reality...which was roughly my pay. I however did not admit that it was my fault..guilt obviously precludes honesty...but I think if the same task was/is given to me today....I would have probably have achieved the same...I think this is where the concept of "experience" kicks in and understanding of the larger ball game also comes in. I can now relate to some of my frustrations with my group in terms of time management and deliverables...to probably what my boss felt the other time but was kind enough not to let me know.
Since I talked about frustrations ...I want to write a bit about the same. the frustrations of working in groups is I think minuscule when compared to those associated with the academic life and the role of professors/instructors in creation of the same...so I will concentrate on the latter...Expectations of professors while dealing with the students have to be reasonable and purely academic in nature...they should be clearly conveyed in the beginning and there should be no detours in the program...based on the whims and fancies...like...oh you know what...I saw a program yesterday on something...hence we will change the direction of the project in light of that ...(yes flexibility is required..and desirable) but 3 weeks down the lane when there has been substantial change in the direction of the work when compared to the original objectives has been achieved...it is too unrealistic to expect to still meet the initial objectives of the project @ hand. You cant have both ways...and cant achieve everything... in a limited set of time...
I can go for ages on this..but the set time of an hour has already passed and I've already devoted approximately 20 minutes to Big B...today...so let me just stop here...
This blog...probably is very personal and reflects my vent of anger/frustrations on the system in an easy way and a way that is not vindictive.
Thanks for bearing with me
chao
Avadhani
ps: I'm heading to a vacation and will probably not be able to blog for some time...but will be BACK!...
posted by Avadhani at
9:48 PM
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