When
it comes to my classes and my students, I worry about many things. Perhaps worrying makes me a better
teacher. Here are two things I at worrying
about at the current time.
--I
worry that students will not make good use of the 3-4 months they have off each
summer. I know that college students
are very busy people. Many have jobs or
internships. Others are taking summer
classes. However, learning simply
cannot cease for such an extended period.
That is not a good use of available time or brainpower. Learning should not be limited to formal
classroom experiences. College students
need to be getting themselves prepared for what educators refer to as “lifelong
learning.” In our fast moving society,
that becomes more and more important. No one can afford to stop learning at 22.
--I
worry that students will wind up in a program or a major that does not really
intrigue them. College should be a time
of exploration when students discover their passions and then set out to follow
them. No one wants to hear a senior say
at graduation “I earned a major but I didn’t find it very interesting.”
As
anyone who has followed this blog for long knows, I send out emails to my
students over the summer. Below is one that
I recently sent out to the juniors in my upcoming fall class. I am not sure how many will read the
recommended book but I hope some/many do.
It will be good for them and, perhaps, it will help them become more interested
in their major. If nothing else, I have
raised the issue of “are you in the right major?” At the start of the junior year, that is
probably a good time to consider that question.
I
realize that many readers of this blog do not teach in the business
area. Okay, find a different book. What book could you recommend that might
have this impact on your students?
Surely, there has to be some book available that would work, some book that would be a good use of student
time over the summer. Introduce it to your studies and make it sound interesting, make it sound worth reading.
**
To: Accounting Students for the fall semester
From: JH
I
was sitting on my front porch a few minutes ago reading the June 5, 2017,
edition of Time magazine. I read something I wanted to share with
you. The magazine had a discussion with
Bill Gates, the richest person in the world and one of the most influential. The conversation was about the books he is currently
reading and books he has previously read.
The second question in the article was “What one, two or three books
changed your life?” That question always
fascinates me so I studied his answer carefully. Here is the second book he mentions.
“Warren
Buffett loaned me his copy of Business Adventures by John Brooks many years
ago. It’s still the best business book
I’ve ever read. It’s a collection of
Brooks’ New Yorker essays about why various companies succeeded or failed. The essay titled ‘Xerox Xerox Xerox Xerox’
should win an award for most clever chapter name, and the lessons inside the
book are even better. I took inspiration
from it while running Microsoft.”
I
really don’t worry about teaching you accounting. I know this confession doesn’t sound like my
reputation. You are bright and
I suspect you will be willing to do the work necessary if I make it a fair (and
not impossible) amount. What concerns
me is whether you enjoy business enough?
To me, business is absolutely fascinating. It is like playing in the Super Bowl where
you are trying to figure out a product and a manufacturing process and a
marketing process and the like that are so well done that people will give you
their money. If you do all those things
better than anyone else, then your company wins.
I
have created and eventually sold two businesses and few adventures are more fun
and more satisfying.
If
that interests you, the fall will be a great semester. If that doesn’t interest you, then I’m not
sure Intermediate Accounting is the course for you. You only have one life to live. I much prefer for it to be in an area that
you love.
I
say all of that to encourage you to get a copy of Bill Gates’s recommendation
and read it. Hopefully, it will excite
you about business. No, this is not an
assignment. If you are only going to do
what is absolutely required, then I already know you are in the wrong
program. By this age, you should be
doing stuff that interests you so much that you don’t have to be bribed to do
it.
To
be honest, I have not read this book.
Nevertheless, Bill Gates has made more money than I have so his advice
is probably better than mine. If you do
read it, come by in the fall and tell me what you liked and what you didn’t
like.
Hope
you have a good Memorial Day.
