James Drogan

I've based the title of this post on the title of a book, Stuff You Don't Learn in Engineering School: Skills for Success in the Real World, by my colleague at Maritime, Carl Selinger. 

My sense is that our responsibility as teachers is to cover more than what is in the syllabus.  What's in the syllabus is simply not enough to pack the survival kit you'll need for "out there where the cold wind blows."  Hence, some of my courses feature a discussion on "How to Deliver Constructive Criticism."

Another approach to delivering this responsibility I think teachers have is to point students to relevant material.

In that regard your attention is drawn to How Can “The Best and Brightest” Get It So Wrong? from Irving Wladawsky-Berger's blog.

One of my cautions to you is synthesized nicely in this paragraph.

"It is difficult to find people, especially those whose accomplishments have helped them achieve success, wealth and power, who do not exhibit feelings of arrogance to a greater or lesser degree. But, especially for those in a position of leadership, it is crucial to be on guard for such feelings and not let them take over. Good leaders must have their feet firmly planted on the ground. Otherwise their feelings will lead to a distorted view of the reality around them and of their own capabilities to deal with the troubles that inevitably lurk ahead."