Excitement, Frustration, and Elation

Tonight I helped some students bang through DMZ setup. While my assignments provide general directions they’re not click-here, select the combo-box there. Students simply retain more when they struggle a bit. That takes practice and persistence. Still, it’s one thing to throw them into the deep end without a life jacket; it’s another to teach them the backstroke while the waves crash over us together. That's why I was there.

During the session I saw emotions ranging from excitement to frustration to elation. They were enthusiastic at the start, frustrated when the config didn’t work on the first (or second or third) pass, and elated when the web site finally popped up on the browser. Now it’s time to take off my educator’s hat: welcome to IT.

In a year or two these same students will be excited when they get that first big assignment at Huge Company Inc. They’ll be frustrated when, though it seems they’ve done everything right, the firewall won’t fire and the server doesn’t serve. Finally, in the twilight of sunrise, they’ll be elated when they discover the proper  command syntax that makes the bits flow.

Unfortunately, their effort will go unappreciated. Just as you don’t call the water heater company to thank them for a hot shower, we don’t expect people to fawn over the fact that they can log in. Your boss might let you go get some sleep, but it starts all over again tomorrow morning. 

Monday's class session brings a new assignment with more points up for grabs. Sad? Yes, but we'll tackle it with enthusiasm just the same.