Teaching has a new meaning these days for me. Jispa started
coming for my lectures. That is crazy awesome. I have taught for so many years
for the joy of teaching but also for a secret joy – of being able to teach
Jispa. Of course, she doesn’t open her mouth in class but she sits through and
tries to understand what all I have to teach. It fires me up no end.
My lectures are at 11 am on Saturday. This gives me the
perfect schedule, to wake up, fix myself an awesome coffee and then attack the
college. It’s a perfect start to the week end.
Practicing what I preach, every lectures starts with a test
that I have designed on Google forms (thanks to another young friend who comes
along) on a topic that I have given a note in advance. Then on we talk about
the paper / questions etc and take it forward. This is something surprisingly that
the students feel happy about. They want tests. They want to read and come to
class and wonder what’s happening.
The last time around I gave them an assignment to see the
movie – The Founder. This was on the McDonalds founder, Ray Croc. It was an outstanding
movie and they showed brilliantly how the original founders – the McDonald
brothers, invented the fast food restaurant business but couldn’t scale it. It
showed how Ray Croc scaled the business and also how he needed to do some
accounting jugglery as well. Ray couldn’t make too much money off the restaurant
and hence to scale it an account advised him to move into the real estate
space. He bought/leased the land and then sublet to the franchisee for a higher
fee, plus the franchisee revenue from sales. This allowed for a crazy increase
in expansion rate.
What I loved about the movie was how they clearly explained
how the brothers invented the system by killing a lot of unnecessary processes
and items that stopped it from becoming efficient. And how Ray Croc understood
that and while he had major run ins with the brothers, as regards the business
proposition, the brothers were essentially right and had gotten the efficiency formula
perfect. He kept that alive.
This was, to my mind an awesome movie and the perfect movie
for watching for the young kids who want to understand management. Its
typically very easy to do various different things but very difficult to focus
on one thing alone.
So, I give them some stuff to read or watch and then come to
class, dur9ng which I give a small multiple choice test. This test is something
that kids can take from their mobile phones anywhere. The time given to the
test is also very tight and the test has around 6-9 questions which are given
in random order. Hence, it’s very difficult to copy as well. Even if two kids
are sitting next to each other, its near impossible to copy and take help. If
the time pressure is so high that you barely have time to think and read the
questions, you have no time to help or copy in a randomized test.
I love the class as I am prepared on what to talk and then
we discuss various elements. That Jispa is present just simply makes it even
more stressful for me. I want to do better for her. I want her to enjoy the
experience. I want to discuss stuff with her. She too is very keen to
understand and learn from me. She was missing one class but she insisted that I
explain to her what I had missed and that she could catch up. That’s nice. That’s
the best way to know if I am making sense. My teen age daughter likes to attend
my lectures, that’s my ultimate vote of confidence. I was telling Jasmine that
no matter what, possibly blood is thicker than water. I love teaching and I love
my lectures. I do it for enjoyment and not for money. But you add my daughter
into the equation and the pressure and pleasure goes up. Funny. Or possibly not
so, in hindsight.
I write writing blogs but because Jispa is now grown up and I
have so many conversations with her and she understands the issues, when it
comes to writing the blog, many times I stare at a blank screen. What to write
when the main motivation is outside of the process.
Recently Jispa told me that there are only 6 months more.
More for what, I asked? For me to be 15. And then? And then to read your blog.
Oh! Is that? Yes, she reminded me. I had promised her that I would allow her to
read my blog when she turns 15. My god. Time did fly. I was quiet. She then
said “you don’t remember promising, do you. You thought I would just forget eh.
Well I have not and you will give me the blog to read on my 15th birthday”.
Of course. Of course. Surely, I will give her the blog to read. I wrote it for
more than ten years for this moment. Will I continue to write afterwards, I hope
so, but it will be interesting to write knowing that your kids will read it
instantly :)
It will be an interesting birthday gift to her. A little
more than 10 years in the making. Wow. Such a big thing from such a small
start. I wonder how she will read it, from the start, randomly, will she get
bored, will she come back and ask clarifications, kick my ass for what I have
written or done, will she cry on a few blogs, will she understand, will she
jump in joy, will it give her solace in trouble? My big one is the last one. I
may be around or not, but I hope whatever I have written will someday assist
her in some sort of way. Hope.
