Educating the Whole Person

Educating the Whole Person

Depending on what brings you to work every day, this may mean something different to each of us. Counseling, Advising, Teaching, Coaching…..  What does this mean to you, and how do you help to make this happen? This post is less of a one-sided submittal, and intended to be more of a two-way exchange (or larger conversation).

Do you feel our job as community college educators, coaches,  and leaders is to ‘educate the whole person’?  Or, should we stick to the traditional ‘Three R’s’ mindset? And, why do you feel the way you do?

According to our last CCSSE & SENSE surveys (2011), over 76% of our students report never working with instructors or faculty outside of class assignments, 33% report never discussing career plans with their advisor or instructors, and only 50% of students reported discussing ideas from readings or class with others outside of class often.

Faculty & staff interactions provide an opportunity to educate the whole person, but my question is: if we buy-in to that premise, what can each of us do better every day to make that be a true statement?

I’m hoping we hold this discussion as a daily reminder of the importance of EVERY.SINGLE.INTERACTION. with our students and the impact we can make in educating the whole person.

Your turn………

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One thought on “Educating the Whole Person”

  1. I guess you have just put into words why I find part-time tutoring at the Writing Center so worthwhile. I can talk with students not only about their writing assignments, but also about their lives. Perhaps the best is the ‘write about an event that changed your life forever’ assignment. Brainstorming for that essay is a priceless opportunity to help someone value their experiences, even the tragic ones, that have sent their lives into a direction they may not have desired. I get to watch as that person realizes that now, in college, they have the opportunity to reflect on that experience and learn that they can grow larger than it once was in their life by wrestling it down onto paper. By choosing how and when to reveal their story to other people, they gain personal strength as well as the confidence to offer support to others. They have become able to weave their own story into the larger narrative of human experience–priceless.

     

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