Fall is in the air (in the Northern Hemisphere), and students are returning to school. That means that once again, fellow monks, Homework Time is upon us. This is the season when the internet is overrun with people who have just run headlong into the sobering fact that computer programming requires one to think logically and to Read The Fine Manual. For some, this is an opportunity to stretch, and to develop new sets of skills. For others, the net provides a way to sidestep difficult work.
Before rushing in to help someone who drops a homework problem at the Monastery's doorstop, consider this:
The person who comes today seeking help with their homework might end up being tomorrow's co-worker.With this thought in mind, as we consider whether to lend our assistance, let us distinguish between
- Those who come seeking guidance, and
- Those who come seeking to have some problem solved for them.
The latter seekers should also be handled with care. Let us be charitable, and seek first to set their feet upon the path to self knowledge. Provide hints. Point to the docs. Give the seeker an opportunity to rise to their problem. But if that fails, let their nodes be reaped.
<amen>
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Replies are listed 'Best First'. | |
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Re: Homework and the Monastery
by perrin (Chancellor) on Sep 09, 2001 at 20:42 UTC | |
by merlyn (Sage) on Sep 09, 2001 at 21:58 UTC | |
by jeffa (Bishop) on Sep 10, 2001 at 00:47 UTC | |
by Hanamaki (Chaplain) on Sep 09, 2001 at 21:24 UTC | |
by krujos (Curate) on Sep 23, 2002 at 18:03 UTC | |
Re: Homework and the Monastery
by Beatnik (Parson) on Sep 10, 2001 at 16:34 UTC |
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