1. A TEACHER
a young professional with
around 5 years of experience
who has gone back to school
to teach the students.
Unlike, professional teachers,
she is also working in the field
and is teaching part time.
Her main motive is to
give back to the school
and help the
community
She teaches construction,
graphics and basic design
in the local interior design
school
THE STUDENTS
The students sometimes enter the couse due to social and peer pressure
they sometimes have very little knowledge of what the course entails or
what the profession entails after completion of studies.
THE PASSION
while speaking to me, I could clearly see that this person was passionate about
teaching and the idea of giving back. I could see that the efforts for teaching that
she had taken up on an individual level were not being mirrored across the teaching
staff and this discouraged her a little but not as much as when the students shruddered
at the extra work.
screening of the students for the course The students would give and aptitude
test and then if some of the students’replies seem ambiguous only that lot is called for an
interview.
It is a nobrainer that the course is outdated in material and in grading
of the students. Can we change the focus from gauging students with better
grades to more diverse experience and more field knowlege.
The university is also unable to attract the right sort of talent to train as the current
admission system cannot gauge the students’ entusiasm in learning.
Can there be counselling session on what the course entails or what is expected of
the students during the course and the fields of opportunity and the work one does as
a professional after the course completion
Some people join the course to escape social stigma of being just an B.com or an arts major
which has no value in the job market and quickly become dissatisfied with the course
work and pressure. Sometimes they just take up the course for a fancy degree title,
the percieved cool profession or to enjoy college life and not really add to the serious
work force.
THE COURSE
The course is decades old and the books, portion and course goals have
not changed. The quest for the students is to get good grades rather than
to explore possibilities and learn more as rote studing is awarded.
The studies are theoretical and not practical enough to train students
for the real world assignments.To counter the course limitations,
she would give out extra work which ofcourse was not exam
oriented. This would lead to a disconnect with the students not
very inclined to do extra work.
Multidiciplinary lectures
to get the students
initiated or interested in
many areas of design,
the school has various
lectures from other
professionals
in realed fields
like landscape architecture,
furniture design etc.
Counselling - the school
has appointed a
counsellor to counsel
students on their life
goals, teachers on
handling students and
parents to ensure that
the students are not
being pressured
at home
Currently,
the students that complete
the course are not market
friendly. They have to
undergo a rigourous 6
months internship to learn
the ropes with no or
minimal pay and then, if
okayed, they get an offer
from the firm or else, search
for a job elsewhere
the students are grade oriented as they believe
better grades = better job
They concentrate only on things that will help them get a better
grade and no the other real world assignments
We need to motivate the students right from getting the right talent
in for the course to ensuring that the course is engaging and that
the students get a balance of theory and practical knowledge.
The world is not linear so we should include softskills,
draw models from various feilds to ensure
a holistic education
Also not after but during the admission process should the students and
the parents be councelled
Multi deciplinary workshops, field trip, mentoring of the students
by the professional teachers and site visits will help the students
get more holistic education. This should be all a part
of the curriculam and the student is graded based on
all of the above (if graded at all)
motivate students to study
have workshops with
different experts of the
field
Right now, interns are
expense to the design firms
HOW TO cut down on that?
How to make the course
studing fun and engaging
to all the students?
How to inpire students to
take up a more holistic view
towards education and work?
Highly motivated, creative professional and a person
inclined to give back to the society. She is young and
energetic and full of willingness to give the students
the opportunity she didnot have.
inspire and motivate the prospective and
enrolled students
there is a big disconnect in the job market
requirement and the professionals that the
school is doleing out.
We need to rethink the admission process.
We need to try & gauge the student soft skills,
their willingness to learn and ability to give
their 100% to the chosen career path.
We need to counsel the sudents before they opt for
he said course and ensure that both the students and
the parents are made privy of the course structure,
workload, the profession you get after the completion
of the course and the actual working enviornment
Once the right talent is enrolled in the course, we need
to then start grooming them. We need to stress in
solving real world problems while they are studing
so that they can gain practical knowledge of how the
theory can be put to use.
More emphasis should be given to getting knowledge
by going on field trips, participating in workshops and
actual work sites that just rote studing.
Insentivise initiative shown by students
New ideas should no only be encouraged but promoted
aggresively by teachers, the course goals and the
prospective employers
Corporate tie ups for each and every student should be
encouraged to esure that the internship period of 6
months in incorporated within the class where in the
teachers help in transitioning the school to work
atmosphere.