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05

May

Moving on… I’m a pretty emotional person when it comes to departures. When people pass on. When people move away. When people walk out of my office. When people graduate.  In a few days, peeps will be graduating from the U, and I’m a little sad about it. This is a group of students that I’m particularly close to, and I’m honestly bummed that some of these folks won’t be in my life on the regular. It’s a bit wistful. I’m glad that they have reached their goals, but I’m sad that I have to see them go. A few keep touch over the years, and more randomly stop by after a few years. These folks become part of my landscape for years, and then all of a sudden, they are gone, and they are doing wonderful things with their lives. I can’t be mad at them. I certainly can’t. I have a friend who is moving on from the U to another U and onto bigger and better things. I am certainly happy for him, but like my student’s bright and shiny faces, he was part of my landscape. More accurately, he was not just part of my landscape, he was the respite part of my landscape. The Gazebo of Sanity in an insane landscape. We all have those people - the ones we turn to when life is just craptastic, and they instantly make it all right. The world is better off after a few minutes in the shade. I will miss his shade. Being in the bright sun is wonderful, but like a deep swill of lemonade, there is something about being out of it and being able to exhale.  So, to all those who are moving on, fare thee well. To all of those who stay behind, like myself, know that you send off fledglings to fly. And now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to dab off some tears. Char

Moving on…

I’m a pretty emotional person when it comes to departures. When people pass on. When people move away. When people walk out of my office. When people graduate. 

In a few days, peeps will be graduating from the U, and I’m a little sad about it. This is a group of students that I’m particularly close to, and I’m honestly bummed that some of these folks won’t be in my life on the regular. It’s a bit wistful. I’m glad that they have reached their goals, but I’m sad that I have to see them go. A few keep touch over the years, and more randomly stop by after a few years. These folks become part of my landscape for years, and then all of a sudden, they are gone, and they are doing wonderful things with their lives. I can’t be mad at them. I certainly can’t.

I have a friend who is moving on from the U to another U and onto bigger and better things. I am certainly happy for him, but like my student’s bright and shiny faces, he was part of my landscape. More accurately, he was not just part of my landscape, he was the respite part of my landscape. The Gazebo of Sanity in an insane landscape. We all have those people - the ones we turn to when life is just craptastic, and they instantly make it all right. The world is better off after a few minutes in the shade. I will miss his shade. Being in the bright sun is wonderful, but like a deep swill of lemonade, there is something about being out of it and being able to exhale.

 So, to all those who are moving on, fare thee well. To all of those who stay behind, like myself, know that you send off fledglings to fly.

And now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to dab off some tears.

Char

4 months ago Short URL 1 note

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07

Feb

My Philosophy on Teaching and Learning

I firmly believe that we are all teachers. We all possess unique sets of talents, skills, and abilities that we pass down informally - for instance, to friends when we show them how to fold an origami crane because we’ve been doing it since we were a kid. Among us walk very talented photographers, calligraphers, artists, poets, crafters, chefs, but we would never know it because we’re not part of their informal circle. We walk by them every day - professors, staff, students. This flows naturally to my philosophy of learning - that we can learn inside and outside the classroom, and that we learn best when we are engaged with the material and the teacher, working in small groups, when we are able to make meaning of what we’re doing. Somehow what we’re learning has to vibe us from the inside and is important to us.

****

I was asked the questions about my philosophy on teaching and learning from a reporter from our campus newspaper, and I this was the hardest, then easiest paragraph to write. It just makes sense to me.

Strangely enough, I was a little leery of who was going to see this philosophy. But if you know me, then you know this to be exactly what I’m all about and why I’m in higher education. To help students make meaning of their education, and to help the students see that they are cultural and academic producers just as much as their teachers are.

Students are powerful too. If only they can embrace that sense of power when they are more often content to be passive receivers of their education. The revolution continues.

Charlene

6 months ago Short URL

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