Tuesday, July 08, 2008

TOW I miss IITK

Correct me if I am missing something here, but a company only breaks even once. Isn't it?
REF: (emphasis is mine)
Deccan Odyssey breaks even after five years
Neha Raghunath MUMBAI
Deccan Odyssey, the luxury train, has managed to break even for the first time since its inception five years ago, according to Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation CEO Jayant Gaikawad.


Finally I have done something worthwhile (or set something worthwhile in motion) in a long, long time. I have signed up for a social service scheme. As it happens, I love to teach. You may disagree strongly if you were one among the majority of students who took the Data Structures course at IITK that I taught. There is a faint chance that you may appreciate my decision.
I still remember reading the course feedback and comments ranged from "The nation needs more teachers like you" to "Please don't teach. EVER". Quite confusing, except that I love to teach which makes my own decision easy to make.
I sometimes wonder why I didn't end up as a professor in some nice university. One reason is that I wanted to earn more than what a typical teaching position at an IIT or IIM affords. Another reason is that there is something I want even more strongly - it will unravel itself in a few years' time I hope and believe.
However, deep inside me, I still relish the campus atmosphere. I loved the lively discussions that happened in the CS101 lecture hall of IITK. I didn't like the discussions at IIMA so much because somehow, they seemed to be motivated more by the incentive of class participation marks.
I was more an observer than an active participant - speaking on the few occasions prodded by the professor, but I thoroughly enjoyed most discussions.
I also remember the time my English professor at IITK made me feel extremely guilty. He was a member of the interview panel which had screened me for a big-name scholarship. Clearly, he held a good opinion of me. However, that opinion took a big beating when I took his course on Modern English Literature and attended very few (and I cannot over emphasise this!) of his sessions. I still performed pretty satisfactory and just missed an A. I probably would have grabbed that A if I had known the course syllabus. One day, in his office, he exhorted me to change my attitude and I felt very guilty, but in my typical rebellious teenager manner, I didn't budge. It makes me wonder about the thought processes I must have originated in the professor's mind.
I wish I had attended more of those lectures - at least the ones I liked.
I wouldn't like to teach a student like that.

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