Whatrichardsaid

The days fly by, the years are concentrated in decades and your dreams and passions fade or adapt to the new environments in which we move. One day Inadvertently you realize that you have just found one of your favorite tasks in something that you never imagined you could do or you would be interested in….

Five years ago, after several decades giving some occasional talks, mainly in companies or business meetings, and as a businessman with a few projects on the way, someone offered me the possibility of teaching some classes at a Business University.

The truth is, when they offered me this challenge, I did not see myself prepared, although somewhat nervous, I decided to make this opportunity an educational experience … never the less.

Teaching is a very rewarding task, even though it has difficult moments.

Many times, the problem begins with oneself, since we create a special connection with our students and we may not see the line between pushing towards the capacity of that student or searching for their sympathy.

Other times the problem is the time to prepare our subjects. I find myself thinking about my next classes all the time, when I am reading an article or a book, watching tv or even working, ideas come out or examples you want to share in your classes, but structure is important, or so I´ve been told.

In my case, the classes are very open, with great critical thinking and where I seek a lot of the opinion from the students. I share all my experiences and ask questions inciting a debate. When a professional from the business world begins teaching, he receives a significant impact, your knowledge is extensive, with many experiences and examples of what to or not to do. Obviously, we have many adventures and misadventures from different moments, but our students are a diamond in the rough, they have  little experience, the have lived little.

They are young people with a lot of information at their disposal, also a lot of distractions ,with huge curiosity but not a lot of observation sense, many times they have interests far removed from the concepts and subjects that we teach in class, and their surprise and motivation, or their boredom and laziness is in the hands of the teacher.

This responsibility makes teaching a very motivating part for me, it forces me to maintain a very high level of self-study and even learn new subjects that are highly current.

Students challenge you and ask you questions that you should know, or at least understand. This has changed my life, as continuous study creates a liberating and satisfying feeling that only to my students I can gratefully thank.

We are at the end of the school year, the students are concentrating on their final year assignments, others on their theses and some are already thinking about a post COVID vacation that we all deserve, and I just want to thank all of them for their passion and their demand in my classes, since they make me a better person every day.

Thanks.