Last week in class, we conducted a mini-experiment. It involved posting on social media to ask our friends and followers about how they would define today's American college student. It turned out that many of my friends wanted to share their thoughts on this matter. But as responses began to roll in, I became disheartened. "Lazy," "clueless," "childish," and "unaccountable" were all words that my friends - current college students, recent grads, and even student affairs professionals - believed BEST described today's students.
What about those lively, proactive, driven, and passionate students that I know? What about those ones eager to learn, engaged, and seeking to make a difference? So many students I've met have had some semblance of this spark and so much potential. It disappointed me that others were not seeing this. My reaction to several of this week's readings was similar to my reaction to these negative perceptions of students. These readings painted a picture of a higher education landscape that was out of line with my own views. Several of the articles talked about a book called Academically Adrift, by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa. A key conclusion of this book was that students are not showing significant advances in learning during college. As Carey (2012) pointed out, studies such as this add difficulties for higher education institutions that are trying to prove their worth and elicit governmental support. In a different article, Harden (2012) wrote about how universities as we know them are on their way to extinction. On the rise, he said, are online, free college programs. Although he argued that the gap in differences of experiences between residential students and distance learners will decrease, I cannot fully support this idea. With a student affairs perspective, I believe the hallmark of a higher education encompasses all of those out-of-classroom experiences as well as those sometimes uncomfortable conversations that are most beneficial inside the classroom. Other articles highlighted frustrations by professors and adjunct instructors. Ones who firmly believe the majority of college students are not capable or worthy of earning a college degree (Professor Z, 2008), ones who are discouraged by unengaged students (Gay, 2014), and ones who entirely question the purpose of higher education (Menand, 2011). This last one, however, does not cause me quite as much disillusionment as the others, for I believe it is often beneficial to question the purpose of something and strive to make meaning of one's work. All together these articles made me reconsider several of my attitudes toward higher education. Feelings of pride in the institution of higher education and passion for the legacy established by centuries of universities has clouded my judgment. It has placed a desire to continue these legacies at the forefront of my mind, rather than a determination to adapt to new changes and struggles facing higher education. As Dr. Latz said in class last week, we see others as we are, not necessarily as they are. This week's readings helped me realize the extent to which I had been embodying this. Moving forward, I must seek to understand all perspectives, not just the one I occasionally see behind rose-tinted glasses. I believe the autoethnography project of this semester will grant me a fresh perspective of higher education, one that may be very at odds with my own experience. By employing research methods described by Creswell (2016), I can truly gain a sense of how others experience college. I'm especially interested in the method of observation, and would like to be able to do two observations: one as a observer as participant and one as a complete observer. I'm looking forward to putting to use the interviewing skills I learned in undergrad while tailoring them to this specific project. The common feeling I had when reading "The Hatred Within" (García, 2007) and "The Headscarf" (L., 2014) was that, despite our differences, some feelings, desires, and experiences are so innately human that we all can share them. While García focused on how his ethnicity had shaped his identity and Sara L. described the role of religion in helping her find her purpose, they showed how people may take several different routes to end up with very similar conclusions. Of course, there were many parts of their stories that were new to me and opened my eyes to other perspectives. But a few passages really connected with me and mimicked some of my experiences and ideas that have been crucial in shaping my identity. I will conclude with sharing these passages:
Readings (presented in almost APA format):
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Socrates, Einstein, Voltaire, and many others regarded as geniuses have all said something along the lines of, "The more I come to know, the more I realize I know nothing." I have a feeling this will ring true throughout all my graduate studies. It is therefore appropriate that I am reminded of this quote by this first set of readings.
First up were three readings about autoethnographic research, which instructed readers to violate nearly everything they knew about traditional research. Methods generally employed to eradicate biases were thrown out the window, as authors of these readings encouraged researchers to place themselves fully into the context of their study. By inserting personal narratives into research studies, authors provide readers with an experience to which they can relate as well as an opportunity to examine an instance from multiple perspectives. It does so vibrantly, while also being scholarly. As Nash and DeMethra (2012) wrote, "[Scholarly Personal Narrative] writing strives for both creative vigor and intellectual rigor." In the context of student affairs, I believe this sort of research can improve professionals' understanding of their students' identities and how those define their sense of reality. The in-depth, highly personal approach of autoethnographies helps us to view each of our students as individuals, rather than collective subpopulations (e.g. first-generation college students, members of the LGBTQ+ community, etc.). There are, however, challenges with conducting autoethnographic research. Proponents of quantitative research may label autoethnography as invalid, biased, and not reflective of big-picture reality. This elicits a few questions about the norms we have established for research:
While reading these articles, I realized I often use techniques similar to autoethnography to make sense of real-life situations that may not, at first, be relatable for me. I most recently did this in regard to this letter distributed at the University of Chicago to students. In the letter, the Dean of Students said they "do not support so-called 'trigger warnings'" and that they "do not condone the creation of intellectual 'safe spaces' where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own." The dean claimed to uphold these positions because of the University's "commitment to freedom of inquiry and expression." Of course, trigger warnings and safe spaces are a hot topic in higher ed, and their effectiveness is widely debated. I have struggled with my own views about this, but this letter made me realize how a recent experience I had may be similar to those calling for trigger warning and safe spaces. While working as a full-time paraprofessional at my undergrad this past spring, I was fortunate to have an office all to myself. The only downside was being right across from a very chatty colleague. One day, I was presented with a front row seat to a conversation she was having with another colleague about Catholics. Being Catholic myself, it became pretty difficult to tune her out. "I just don't get it. All of their services - they just sit and stand and kneel and stand and recite things. It's useless! And what they believe - they think what they do on Earth can help them get a better spot in heaven. How stupid do you have to be?" It stung. Practicing a dominant religion meant that this sort of situation was rare for me; it was not often that I had this part of my identity criticized so harshly. Yet, because my job required me to be at work and there was an expectation for me to have my door open, this conversation was one I could not avoid overhearing. It upset me greatly and negatively impacted my ability to do my work. After reading the letter from the University of Chicago, I realized how trigger warnings and safe spaces could have turned my situation into a constructive experience instead of a destructive one. Had my colleague come into my office, asking to talk about religion (cue, the trigger warning) I could have prepared myself for what might be a challenging but meaningful conversation that could lead to mutual understanding. Additionally, if I had the option to retreat to my office and close the door for a little while after the conversation (i.e. go to my safe space), I would have been able to peacefully process the conversation in a way that would foster long-term learning. This might be similar to how students who are expected to attend and participate in class may benefit from trigger warnings and safe spaces. Trigger warnings could help students PREPARE (not AVOID), and safe spaces could help PROCESS (not IGNORE). These strategies could incite learning rather than distract from learning. By considering my own experience and how it relates to others' experiences, I employed some techniques of autoethnography. The final reading was about today's college students in the United States, highlighting the diversity of the current generation of students. Special attention is given to how even diversity has changed over time; whereas a diverse student body used to primarily allude to racial diversity, it now refers to several more different subpopulations. Gender identity, sexual orientation, income status, age, military association, distance learning, and many other characteristics add diversity to college campuses. I personally believe this is great, as we are ensuring access to higher education to more people. Additionally, this presents students with more opportunities to engage with others who have different backgrounds. Being exposed to a variety of perspectives challenges students (and faculty and staff) to find similarities, celebrate differences, and create understanding throughout all of it. Of course, this too comes with challenges. I conclude now with a question that was posed at the end of Lemann's article: "Given that with greater diversity comes the potential for greater conflict, what responsibilities do institutions have to avoid possible conflicts or facilitate learning during conflict? How might higher education administrators do this?" Readings (presented in almost APA format):
Grad school is here and so are the 600 pages of weekly readings. That means it's time to hit the keyboard just as much as I hit the books. For the next several months, the majority of my blog posts will focus on readings for one of my courses, EDHI 602: The American College Student. Sounds boring, right? Wrong. Prepare to be enlightened. I know I'm ready to be.
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Kristin KreherMy happiness comes from meaningful interactions, the outdoors, thrift shops, and saying "thank you." Archives
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