Teaching students

As part of an assignment - I got a chance to train students. A very different audience than my regular corporate audience and I took as a challenge. And it was fun. So what is the difference? Mind well, but these are the generation that will soon be in the corporate world - and some of them already are - the digital generation.

Couple of things struck me...

These kids are super articulate  - not that we dont know it...
They were born with the internet - so it is second nature to them
Awareness about the world is high - very high - but awareness around (state, city, culture) seems to be on the lower side
If you are going to 'teach' them, you better add value (true in all cases)
If they have a doubt/thought/comment/wisecrack - they will share it - accept it - and it makes the interaction richer
They are hungry to learn - but only those who put in the time and engage in focussed effort will cross over the inflection point (pretty obvious at any point)
The bell curve of awareness is wide - some are well read - mostly more than you as a facilitator - while some are into stuff you have no clue about - music (and its flavours) or some such thing
They are trapped into certain methods of thinking - and few have looked out of the 'matrix' so to say, and therefore worldviews are still archaic - so, I did see a significant element of 'group' think.
Great enthusiasm, great energy - and no baggage of the socialism years - they are gung-ho about everything that comes their way

All in all, it was a great interaction spread over a few weeks...