Monday, January 31, 2011

Change

I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to teach after just one year of graduate school.  At that time, I was appointed as an adjunct to teach a basic macroeconomics course at the same institution that I had just graduated from a year earlier.  My name appeared in the course schedule but thanks to the efforts of a friend of mine, no one knew that I was teaching this course.  All my friend did was start a rumor that the Berliner who was teaching the economics course, was a “famous economist” by the name of Berliner who had taught at Leipzig before the war.  I was, of course, unaware of this but noticed when I came into class the first day, that there was a great deal of conversation taking place between the students as soon as I moved to the front of the room.  I could clearly hear one student near the front saying to another with almost a sense of disappointment “it’s only Herman.”  What a way to start your teaching career.

I was especially fortunate that at the time that I started teaching, there was a program being run where a small number of new instructors were invited to a seminar on teaching and were even paid to attend the seminar.  I was selected and was pleased to have the opportunity.  The seminar consisted of weekly meetings and also consisted of the person teaching the seminar (a senior History faculty member) coming to your class to observe your teaching.  The new faculty in the seminar were recent PhDs and graduate students, who were also teaching while completing their education.  The conversations were great and allowed us to work through the issues that inevitably arise during the first semesters that a person is teaching.  I was somewhat nervous when it was my turn to be observed; the lesson went well, however, and I felt very positive when I entered the meeting with the seminar teacher.

At the start of the meeting, I was told that I did an excellent job explaining economic concepts, getting the class to participate, and integrating current economic events into the discussion.  I was next asked a question that I wouldn’t be asked today—how old was I?  I didn’t have any sense as to why I was being asked an age question but it wasn’t a secret and I quickly answered 22.  I was next asked what I thought the age range was of the students in my class.  And though I didn’t understand the basis for this question either, I once again answered very quickly—somewhere between 18 and 24 years old.  What was going on and how did this relate to an observation of my teaching?

The mystery was solved in the next minute.  The seminar teacher summarized his observation by saying that he thought I did a terrific job and that the students were interested and involved in the class.  He next said, and I have held onto this advice for decades, “please remember that as your teaching career continues and you get older, you will need to change how you relate and how you communicate with students.”  What works when a 22 year old is talking with 20 year olds doesn’t work when a 40 or 50 or 60 year old is talking with and helping to educate 20 years olds.  We continuously get older, and clearly our “traditional” students don’t.  We also need to be cognizant of the fact that student demographics also change as we age.

It isn’t enough for us as educators to just remain current in our subject matter.  We need to continuously reflect on how we are communicating and relating to our students.  And we need to recognize that it becomes harder as the age gap widens and as there are various shifts in the age of the students we are teaching.  However, without the communication working well, being an up-to-date subject matter specialist is not enough.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Highly Recommended

I welcome the opportunity to provide recommendations for outstanding students.  I believe it is part of our mission as faculty and as administrators to facilitate continued success for the top students.  I always try hard to capture the essence of the student I’m recommending so that whoever reads the recommendation has both a better understanding of the student and of my motivation for providing the recommendation. Capturing the essence of the student isn’t easy but without that effort, all a recommendation comes down to is a collection of flattering words often without a context or a common thread.  Isn’t almost everyone we provide a recommendation for, intelligent, hard working, and successful in their schoolwork?  What makes the person you are writing about an excellent candidate for admission to a highly selective graduate or professional school?  Why this person as opposed to another candidate who’s GPA and honors are equivalent.

To be in a position to write a recommendation for a student requires more than the act of writing itself.  You should not only know the student (through class or through working in your office or through shared governance) but you should also ask for person’s transcript, their resume, and their personal essay. This should be followed shortly thereafter by a full conversation with the student asking what does the student have in mind and why.  This actually provides a great opportunity to help the student reflect on exactly what he/she is thinking as a next step in his/her education/career.  It was actually during such a conversation in my senior year in college that the faculty person I was talking to suggested a doctoral program in economics. Up to that time, I had actually focused almost exclusively on career opportunities and I have always been thankful for the conversation and the advice.

I have also learned over time to say no when asked by students I don’t really know or can’t recommend wholeheartedly to write recommendations on their behalf.  I know that I could write the recommendation, not say anything negative, still tell the truth, and in that way avoid saying no to the student.  But is it really helpful to say that student X has a nice personality, or came to class regularly, or handed in assignments on time? What does that really tell you? What value would be placed on such a recommendation? I think we all know the answers to these questions.  Saying no can also at times open the door to a fruitful conversation that can lead to a much more positive outcome in the future.

I also read recommendations from applicants as well as recommendations for a union scholarship that I help to judge. My belief is that recommendations can be most helpful at the margin. When you are undecided as to whether a person should be accepted or rejected, or should or should not be awarded a certain scholarship, a good recommendation can be of enormous help. A mediocre or superficial recommendation, on the other hand, is of no value whatsoever.  And too many of the recommendations I have read over many years fall into the superficial category.

If you believe a person should be highly recommended, go ahead and make the recommendation. Make it convincingly and passionately.   It will matter.  But if you don’t feel strongly about recommending the person, do yourself and the person a favor.  Nicely suggest they look elsewhere.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Shopping Around

In my household, I am typically the designated grocery shopper.  I go once a week, and both my wife and I buy whatever remaining items we end up needing in between.  Within about a mile, there are five major supermarkets.  All have their strengths and weaknesses but I know from experience that they don’t have the best goodness of fit with the needs of my family.). So instead of choosing based on convenience, I choose based on the selection and go to another major supermarket that is almost 20 by-car minutes from my home.  The supermarket I go to is the Long Island “branch” of what started as a local Manhattan store.  Before the Long Island branch opened, I did much of my shopping at the Manhattan store, so a 20-minute commute is actually an improvement.  (Under full disclosure, I like Manhattan so these shopping trips did allow the opportunity to do other things as well.) What specifically makes this store, the store of choice for my family?  Simply stated, it is the selection of fruits, vegetables, fish, pasta, cheese, meat, frozen foods, diary, and also the selection of dark chocolate (a key part of our well balanced diet).

I made my choice based on years of experience but there are other ways to make this choice.  Typically once a week, each of these stores publishes a flyer with their specials and these flyers are included with my newspaper delivery.  I really can’t tell the differences in stores by looking at the flyers or at the store websites.  I can’t tell the difference by looking at the store facades.  The names of the stores tell me even less. I can only tell which is the best based on my needs and a careful evaluation over time.

In choosing a college or university, I always emphasize the outstanding education we provide at Hofstra but I also always stress the need for potential students and their families to carefully evaluate all their options and alternatives in order to make the “best fit “ choice for the individual involved (which very likely would be Hofstra).  But you can’t find “best fit” by simply looking at websites or printed materials or guidebooks or even a visit to campus.  You need to take your time, you need to talk with students and faculty, you need to especially follow up with individuals connected to your area of interest, you need to see how advisement works, you need to see the residence halls, the dining facilities, the recreational facilities, you need to immerse yourself and become as educated as possible about an institution before you commit to being educated at an institution.  Some families do this very seriously and do it very well.  Others are much more haphazard.

Higher Education needs  to do a better job in encouraging all potential students and their families to view college as a life altering investment  that needs to be researched very carefully.  Perhaps some students may make a different choice, perhaps we will gain other students that had originally thought about going elsewhere.  But what I am most certain of, is that there is a strong correlation between  the effort that the students and their family makes to find the best fit institution and retention of that student. We are all invested in student success; that success starts with making the best choice.

Monday, January 10, 2011

The Holiday Break

I really look forward to the December holiday break.  Though the University is always prepared and staffed if any emergency arises, all offices (with the exception of admissions and public safety) are closed from just before Christmas to just after New Year’s Day.  Emails decline precipitously during this time but fortunately I have no trouble adjusting to this change in volume.  I use this time period to just relax and recharge and get ready for the January session and the spring semester. Not unlike so many previous December holiday breaks, we were all set to go to Hawaii where my mother-in-law lives and spend time with her and also with my wife’s sister.  We had our airline tickets, we had rented a beautiful house, and even had restaurant reservations set (including at the same Asian restaurant just frequented by President Obama and his family). We were fully packed and certainly well prepared.   I had multiple books and magazines to read. And then the weather forecast became more ominous.

By Saturday night, it was clear this was no ordinary or minor winter storm.  More and more frequently the weather forecasts mentioned blizzard, gale force winds, heavy accumulation, white out conditions and other terms that hardly seem compatible with a trip to Hawaii.  Not to worry, our flight was scheduled for Monday afternoon and we decided to go to Newark airport on Sunday so that we would be all set for the Monday flight without the concern about getting to Newark immediately after a major storm.    We felt the night at a Newark airport motel was good insurance for a much desired trip to Hawaii.  By early Sunday morning, the snow had stopped, some sun had appeared, and the clean up was well underway.  And by late morning we were also underway to the airport.  We were very optimistic and as I had mentioned earlier, we had prepared well.

It took over two hours for us to check our luggage.  So many flights had been canceled, so many individuals needed to make other arrangements, that the check in line moved at a snail’s pace and even that might be an overly optimistic assessment of the speed.  Our plane was still scheduled to go, but the departure time was changed from 1:30 to 3:30 PM.  Certainly understandable.   And then the departure time was changed to 4:30, then to 5:30, then to 6:30, then to 7:30, then 8, then 9, then 10, then 11PM…and then the flight was canceled.  What now?  Well there are no available seats in any airplanes going to Hawaii until either December 31 or January 1st.  And since we were scheduled to fly back on January 3rd, departing on the 31st or the 1st on an eleven hour flight for a two day stay is not anyone’s idea of a good time.  So we agreed to be ticketed on standby for the flight on Tuesday.  The flight is again scheduled at 1:30 and postponed to 3:45, and at 3:30 the standby names are called.  As it turns out some of us can get on the flight but not the entire family; we therefore decide not to go.  So after spending 13+ hours at the airport on Monday and 5 hours on Tuesday (and two nights at airport motels) we are heading back home.  Our luggage, by the way, was placed on the flight to Hawaii so at least our clothes are experiencing the aloha feeling.

We stop at a diner on the way home, have our first real meal in two days, and arrive home tired by still determined to make the best out of the remainder of the week.  I turn up the heat (which I turned down when we left) and we settle in.  The temperature slowly rises and then stops rising and stops working.  Not only aren’t we in Hawaii, we are in a very cold house in New York.  We go to sleep and wake up in a chilly 58 degree bedroom.  We call our HVAC contractor immediately; he comes that morning and the heat is back on within 30 minutes.  The contractor leaves, the heat stops working shortly thereafter, and it takes until the next morning for the contractor to make a return visit.  The week between Christmas and New Year’s is 80% over and we are just starting to get comfortable again.

After a good vacation in Hawaii, I am always ready and excited about going back to work.  Interestingly enough,  I certainly have that same feeling after this “vacation.”