It’s interesting to reflect on where we’ve been as we look forward to where we may be going. When I started this blog I thought I could write about topics that would help others overcome barriers and get out of their own way. I suppose that goal was achieved, but not for others, not in the ways I imagined.
Writing in this public fashion allowed me to see the barriers and obstacles that still needed to be examined in my own life. Clearly, I still have some work to do.
I stopped writing during the summer because we were busy traveling. Then I didn’t write because I was busy with a new job. Now, as my first full-time semester winds down, I’ve been inspired to write again. This time I’m aware that the reflections are for me.
If you’ve seen any of my social media posts or had an IRL (in real life) conversation with me, then you know how much happier I am now than I was this time last year. One part of that change is that I am constantly engaging with people who are passionate about what they do.
College professors do not teach for the money! Many of them teach because they are in love with their subject. They would rather read and discuss research than just about anything else. Others are passionate about their responsibility for encouraging and educating our future leaders. I’m one of the lucky few whose research interests and passion for supporting the next generation are overlapping areas of inquiry.
As a new faculty member, I was assigned an official mentor. That turns out to be a great idea. I have also received support from many unofficial mentors at Gordon. These folks don’t need anything else for their tenure review portfolio. They could stop growing now and be set for the rest of their lives, but they don’t. I’ve written elsewhere about the support from several of these superheroes.
One of them, who I haven’t written much about, shared his personal blog with me this morning. I experienced a wide range of thoughts and emotions as I read through Alan Burstein’s experiences and reflections. I laughed. I cried. I also stopped to ponder the “new initiatives” in light of his reflections from 2011. I’m struck by the idea that “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Here is a quote that stopped my train of thought for a few minutes.
“I often remind the occasional irate student who grumbles ‘I’m PAYING for this,‘ that actually, she’s only paying for about half of ‘this;‘ the other half comes from the people of Georgia. They too are our investors, and their investment is best rewarded by our ensuring that students are not pandered to as ‘customers‘ but instead both respected and valued as Georgia’s future while held accountable to a standard worthy of the people’s investment.”
I stopped to ask myself a few questions. How do I show students that I respect them? How is this different from showing them that I value them? Am I truly holding my students accountable to a standard worthy of our investment? If not, what do I need to change? If so, what are the keystone values, processes, or activities that demonstrate these ideals?
I am learning to ask about and reflect on the larger history, the meta-history if you will, before talking about plans for the future. I probably should have learned that a long time ago. In any case, the practice of reflection seems to be the key to superior teaching that spans across the changes and initiatives of the decades.
