Shawna dropped out of high school between her sophomore and junior years because she was unengaged in academics and did not consider her future career goals. After dropping out, she realized getting a job without a high school degree was difficult. She decided to get her GED and enjoyed learning in that supportive environment. The encouragement from her GED classmates and teachers motivated her to accomplish getting her GED. Now she feels ready to go to college, get an education, and find a good job.
After investing 20 years of my life in academics I still wonder sometimes as to what I have been doing all these years as a teacher. Depending upon my frame of mind I do get different responses but nothing concrete. Many a times when I introduce myself as a Chartered Accountant working for management institution teaching students, people are taken a back and with their reaction even I am now forced to introspect whether I did the right thing or not.
People do ask me what do I do as a teacher and my simple answer as always been that I study and imparts behavioral training to my students. I try to best of my ability help students become self-aware by making them to understand their thinking patterns and accordingly help them change themselves.
Many a times I have seen people making a faces exclaiming none can change another person. Such a person doesn’t exist. All this kept me wondering as to what I was doing in the teaching profession was a thankless job… as they say …Those who can, DO. Those who can’t, TEACH.
Last week we had Final Research Project Viva for our graduating PGDM scholars. I was one of the faculty cum director on the panel. We started viva bit early as most of the students were already placed with different organizations.
One after the another student walked in and when it was my turn to ask question I restricted myself to ask what behavioral difference they experience in themselves now specially when they are working. It was really pleasant experience to see the confidence and hear such great experiences from the young minds.
After investing 20 years of my life in academics I still wonder sometimes as to what I have been doing all these years as a teacher. Depending upon my frame of mind I do get different responses but nothing concrete. Many a times when I introduce myself as a Chartered Accountant working for management institution teaching students, people are taken a back and with their reaction even I am now forced to introspect whether I did the right thing or not.
People do ask me what do I do as a teacher and my simple answer as always been that I study and imparts behavioral training to my students. I try to best of my ability help students become self-aware by making them to understand their thinking patterns and accordingly help them change themselves.
Many a times I have seen people making a faces exclaiming none can change another person. Such a person doesn’t exist. All this kept me wondering as to what I was doing in the teaching profession was a thankless job… as they say …Those who can, DO. Those who can’t, TEACH.
Last week we had Final Research Project Viva for our graduating PGDM scholars. I was one of the faculty cum director on the panel. We started viva bit early as most of the students were already placed with different organizations.
One after the another student walked in and when it was my turn to ask question I restricted myself to ask what behavioral difference they experience in themselves now specially when they are working. It was really pleasant experience to see the confidence and hear such great experiences from the young minds.
1. Empathy Map: Sparzo: Design Thinking August 3, 2013
“I didn’t like high school and never thought about the future”
“No one was thinking about getting jobs after graduation.”
“We just wanted to have fun and live for today.”
“High School was a big social event, academics was ignored.”
“I dropped out between sophomore and junior year then I
realized I had to get a job and not having a degree made it
harder to get a good job.”
“As soon as I left school I realized I had to make changes
I decided to get a GED.”
“While there I loved learning, finally.”
“I liked the supportive nature of my GED classmates &
teachers.”
I am NOT going to live life a dropout and a
druggie
I’m tired to drifting around and mooching off
friends
This sucks. There has to be a better way
When I was in the GED program I felt I was
finally accomplishing something valuable
The support and encouragement motivated
me.
I felt like a loser in high school
I pretended there was plenty
of time and wasn’t going to
worry about the future.
Once I decided to get my GED I
felt motivated, and then
accomplished and proud.
Now I feel ready to find a
college and really get an
education and then a good
job!
I observed Shawna during the
interview. She looked me right
in the eye, was confident and
very frank about the mistakes
she made.
I observed what looked like
ambition and a sense of being
in control during the interview.
Problem Statement: Shawna needed a better set of strategies to be more engaged in high school and encouraged to consider
the future as a more urgent or timely component of her life goals so that she could have avoided 3+ years of drift,
unemployment and hardship.
NOTE: This Map is in the past tense. She has successfully engineered her own solution by seeking out Adult Ed, getting a GED and is now working at a
retail job while saving for college. Her hope was our redesign project would improve opportunities for kids still in high school. GMS