Alright! That was quite lengthy :) I wouldn't mind being there spirit guide though--it might be a hoot: naked in sweat lodges, and... oh wait, maybe not such a good idea, I'm not in as good a shape as I used to be!
My comment about administration was tongue in cheek (I do that a lot, sorry). Admin and the business model drives retention issues without having to give the "caring, supportive, encouraging, and empathetic connection". They really just want their money. I agree with Chris and that was my point. I already am a parent to two wonderful little girls and that's as many children as I want. And unless things have gotten really strange lately, most of my students have two parents already--and that's as many as they should get. And, although this may be heretical, I don't actually care about retention--that's admin's job. My job is to teach psychology in the best way I can, which I bet will affect retention in a positive way without me actually caring about it. I really don't want to, nor can I provide these personal, deep, spiritual connections with students. That's what boyfriends/girlfriends, husbands/wives, parents, and the church/greenpeace are for. And that's why most places have a student life department and all kinds of campus clubs and groups (and bars). They also won't get these connections from their bosses at work and we are also charged, I believe, with preparing them for the real world: making education relevant to their lives. I think professors have enough to do. And this is only ONE of the pillars! Maybe admin should pick up the slack :) --Mike On Sun, Mar 8, 2009 at 7:56 PM, Christopher D. Green <chri...@yorku.ca>wrote: > By now I should know better than to answer one of Louis' declarations of > pedagogical wisdom, but here goes: > > Students have all kinds of inappropriate and unrealistic expectations of > what goes on in universities (mostly mediated by movies and television). > Thus, what they want (if indeed Louis is correct that "connection" is what > some unspecified proportion of students actually want from their professors) > is a poor guide to what we should be doing. I am not there to be their > friend. I am not there to be a surrogate for their parents. I am not there > to be their spirit guide. I am there to be one professor among many in their > education. I do that best NOT when I pretend to know the answers to all > their existential needs (because I don't), but when I teach them what I know > (preferably while modeling some good intellectual and professional habits). > > Let the frats do what the frats do, and the clubs and sports teams do what > the clubs sports teams do. They all have their place. I am a professor. I am > going to do what professors do -- teach. I will try to do it with creativity > and enthusiasm. I will not feign that this is deeply meaningful experience > for me personally (and I don't expect my students to do so either). When > students come out of my stats course, the primary measure of my success is > not how "connected" they feel with me, but how well they are able to do > statistical analysis. When they come out of my history of psych course, the > primary measure of my success is how much of that history they know. Over > and above that, it would also be gratifying if they think that stats or > history is more interesting than when they went into the course (but it is > not required of either of us). > > Judging by the stories Louis has told about his conversations with students > over the years (some of which may not actually be his, as we learned last > year when he repeated the punch line of a Taylor Mali poem as his own > experience), I would not have found such a teacher to be "warm" or > "welcoming." To be frank, I would have found it a bit creepy. Too much > self-disclosure on offer. Too much expected as well. And I am absolutely > certain that many of my students would find it creepy if I acted that way as > well. Chacun son gout! > > I do not know what kind of ethnic environment Louis (or any of the rest of > you) teaches in, but I teach in one that is wildly diverse. (Toronto was > named by the UN the most most ethnically diverse city in the world a few > years back. Whether or not that is true, it is still the home of dozens and > dozens of different languages and cultures.) York is a pretty faithful > cross-section of the city. One person could not possibly know what all the > social customs and expectations are of the students here, and making > assumptions would be a foolish mistake. Far from trying to be "close" to > each and every one of my students, I try adopt a stance of professional > respect. For some, it may seem a little "cool." They will soon learn the > difference between a personal and professional relationship. For most, it is > just fine, and it is a good way not to accidentally step across personal > "lines" that you may not even know are there. Louis may work in a more > homogeneous environment in which making assumptions about students' > expectations is not as vulnerable to miscalculation. In a place like York > (or in any large city, I'd wager), it is likely to land one in a place > somewhere between embarrassing and professionally lethal. > > I try to be kind. But there are limits if I am not to become a pushover. As > a professor, I would much rather have students ask me to be their honors > supervisor because I'm one of the most knowledgeable people they have ever > met rather than because I am one of the kindest, gentlest people they have > ever met. If they come to me for the former reason, they want to learn. If > they come to me for the latter reason, they are hoping for leniency. > > As for students wanting to know what kind of person I am, I think Louis is > flat wrong about this being "the most important question they ask." (Indeed, > why would anyone ask such a question essentially on the basis of seeing my > name printed in a course catalog?) It seems perfectly plain that people take > my course because they want or are required to know about stats or history > (often buttressed by their finding convenient the day and time at which I > teach the course), not because they want to know more about this guy named > Green. If for some idiosyncratic reason they have taken my course because > they want to know me better, they have fundamentally misunderstood the > purpose of a university course. > > Chris Green > York U. > Toronto > ================ > > Louis Schmier wrote: > >> According to the research, come to our campuses and go into our classrooms >> wanting >> connection far more than they want information, and feel they get very >> little of it in the >> classroom. That’s why sports, Greeks, clubs are so vibrant. They give what >> the students >> want and need that they do not generally get in the classroom. Moreover, >> when they come >> into a class, the most important question they ask is “who is this >> person,” wanting to >> know of the professor’s character. At the bottom of their list of >> questions is “what does >> this person know.” >> >> > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) > --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
