teacher pogs: trying to see ze future

I am now teaching about the different majors of our degree program to my Introduction to Electrical Engineering class. One of the main objectives of the course is to teach these freshmen kids the differences between the three majors to eventually help them choose their course majors when they reach their junior year. Apart from the usual lecture of definitions and examples, I was also trying to teach them to visualize and look forward to themselves after four years by writing it in paper, sharing it in groups and sharing the collective answers in class.

An elderly boss once told me about Stephen Covey’s teaching. He said that I should always begin with the end in mind. So, that is what I was trying to do to my class; in the hopes that the activity that I was requiring would eventually inspire them to endure the challenges and struggles that they would encounter along the way. I was very honest, in terms of the current mortality statistics of our course; I even told them that if we are to follow the current statistics, only 50% or less of them would be able to graduate on time. I wasn’t giving them any false hopes that the course they chose was easy; I always tell them that Electrical Engineering is a very challenging degree.

As negative and sombre as it may seem, I am not doing it to discourage my students to continue the degree program because they might just be the unfortunate half who would either transfer, get delayed or get permanently dismissed. I was rather doing it to warn them. The negative things I was telling about was my way of telling them to study while the how do you see yourself in the future activity was my way of encouraging them to pursue and endure the challenges that they will be facing because of the future that they could look forward to.

The question this time was “How do I see myself as an Electrical Engineering student in the next 4++ years?”

Some answers were very optimistic

Some were realistic

And some were exceptionally pessimistic

The things that I am teaching my students are also the things that I am trying to learn and the lessons are not easy on me. They might see the activity as a requirement or something that they simply need to memorize to pass a seemingly insignificant one unit subject. But, what they do not know and what they will soon realize is that the lesson of beginning with the end in mind and trying to see what it is that you want to do in the future is one hell of a lesson that everyone will need to learn for a lifetime. Planning… planning for the future. As the cliché as it is, the quote “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” is true.

Of course when one is in the university, the end that they need to keep in mind is graduation, after that it’s the board exams, then its career, then marriage (or whichever comes first, career or marriage) , then family, etc. etc. etc. there would be a lot of ends to our life. But, there is one thing that I am sure of, our ultimate end is death. If we are to look at it, nothing comes next after dying; but, I believe that a better life is waiting for me after death. It is probably better than any end this world could ever offer.

I might have put my plans on hold, or it might just feel like my plans were on hold and the Lord is fulfilling some agenda that I am not aware of… but I do not want to fail. I promise myself to pick myself back together, no matter how slowly it may seem, and start to plan for the many different ends that the future has in store for me while keeping that ultimate end always intact and holding on to the Reason that that end was there in the first place.  For more than what it is worth, I am choosing to hold on to that end; the end of finally meeting my Creator and spending an eternity with him.

How about you? What is your ultimate end?