I very much enjoy reading your wide-ranging essays, Bonnie! As I've said before, you are an excellent and engaging writer :)
I was a teaching assistant for a communications course at a university known for its technical and engineering degrees. These particular students were in the accounting program; a very high average was needed to get…
I very much enjoy reading your wide-ranging essays, Bonnie! As I've said before, you are an excellent and engaging writer :)
I was a teaching assistant for a communications course at a university known for its technical and engineering degrees. These particular students were in the accounting program; a very high average was needed to get into this university. Some of the students were gifted writers, and I made sure to tell them that. More than one told me that they were in accounting to appease their parents, but hoped to make enough money, early enough, to be able to move on to more creative pursuits. Obviously they were the types of people you're discussing in this essay. I hope they achieved their dreams!
Another story: A major award-winning author came to speak at my college and I was invited to a lunch with him. He proudly said that his son had an MA (or PhD?) in mathematics (from the same university mentioned above) and when asked where he worked, told us he had gone to New York to do something in financial trading. Working as a quant, perhaps? Anyway, father said he didn't understand what he did and seemed quite forlorn about where his talents were being used.
As you note, it would be wonderful if people of talent could use their range of gifts more fully.
I very much enjoy reading your wide-ranging essays, Bonnie! As I've said before, you are an excellent and engaging writer :)
I was a teaching assistant for a communications course at a university known for its technical and engineering degrees. These particular students were in the accounting program; a very high average was needed to get into this university. Some of the students were gifted writers, and I made sure to tell them that. More than one told me that they were in accounting to appease their parents, but hoped to make enough money, early enough, to be able to move on to more creative pursuits. Obviously they were the types of people you're discussing in this essay. I hope they achieved their dreams!
Another story: A major award-winning author came to speak at my college and I was invited to a lunch with him. He proudly said that his son had an MA (or PhD?) in mathematics (from the same university mentioned above) and when asked where he worked, told us he had gone to New York to do something in financial trading. Working as a quant, perhaps? Anyway, father said he didn't understand what he did and seemed quite forlorn about where his talents were being used.
As you note, it would be wonderful if people of talent could use their range of gifts more fully.
Thank you. And thank you for the anecdotes.
It is so frustrating to be stuck doing work you aren't gifted for, and so satisfying to do work for which you have good skills.