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Finding Balance

A couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t see the forest for the trees.  For some reason, likely poor planning on my part, I had several projects all coming due about the same time.  Many of these were projects I could not delegate.  At the time, I didn’t want to delegate anyways because my team already had a lot on their lists due to some changes in our curriculum.  So, I just kept working at them.  At one point, I stopped to reflect.  I came to the realization that because of my intense focus on these projects over the last few weeks other aspects of my life and job were not receiving as much attention as they deserved: my team, my family, myself, and so on.  I know that this is something we all experience at points during the year, which is why I thought to share this story.

You may know I am a Christian, and you may also know that I practice Zen philosophy, Chi Kung, and Tai Chi. A couple of you even know that I used to teach meditation, Chi Kung, and Tai Chi.  I bring this up because as I was reflecting, I noticed two books on my shelf that I had not picked up in a while – Zen for Christians and Tai Chi as a Path of Wisdom.  As I noticed these two texts, I sat there for a few minutes and reflected on some of the underlying principles that they, and my practice, teach. In this particular case, my thinking went to mental quietness, mindfulness, interconnectedness, and balance.  I stress the word balance because that is what was missing from my work and life at that point in time.

Why is that?  First, because I had so much going on, I had not allowed myself to quiet my mind.  When I first get to work (or in this case walk up the stairs to my office) I would take a few minutes to just breathe and clear my head.  I also did this at the end of each day.  It helped me to maintain focus and perspective, leading to mindfulness.  Mindfulness is being in the here and now.  Don’t worry about yesterday or tomorrow, just focus on today – this very moment.  In my teachings, I would have my students sit in a garden with their eyes closed and focus on what they felt, heard, smelled, etc. at any given moment.  I would extend this exercise and encourage students to try and spend an entire day focusing only on the present moment.  By doing so, we all realize how interconnected everything is, how each component of our work and our lives affect each other.    This realization brings balance, our ability to understand that we must pause and give attention to each component of who we are (parent, sibling, child, leader, teacher, and so forth) in order for the other aspects of our lives to thrive.

You see, I had not been attentive to my practice and meditation, or simply put my self-care.  As we all know, we can’t care for others if we do not care for ourselves.  We have to balance in our work, taking time to care for ourselves, our families, our colleagues, etc. in sufficient amount that none of these experience dissatisfaction.  We all need to take time in our lives for mental quietness, mindfulness, and interconnectedness if we want balance in our lives.

 

Less than you deserve?

Hi Everyone!  I know it has been quite a long time since my last post.  I had several changes over the past several months, including obtaining a new position and relocating.  I am back it now though!  I hope you enjoy this and the upcoming posts!

Lately, I have seen the idea “Never accept anything less than you deserve,” showing up in places like Twitter and LinkedIn.  At first, I thought, “Wow, I really like this idea.  We should only accept what we believe we are worth.”  Yes, it is absolutely true we should be confident enough in who we are, not just as professionals, but also as individuals and community members, to be willing to say no if offered something less than we deserve in any aspect of our life.  But then I thought further, what about what we give or offer to others?  If we choose not to accept less than we deserve, we should demonstrate that same level of care, commitment, and respect to others and ensure that we offer them no less.  As a leader, I think this is all the more important and shows a sense of professionalism and respect when what you offer current and future employees truly reflects the value that they bring to the company.

What do I mean by this?  I am not just referring to the salary and benefits offered, this is just a small portion of what employees look for from their leaders.  I am referring to the sense of community we create, the ways in which we interact with others, the sense of autonomy and ownership that you give.  We all contribute in various ways to our community, whether directly or indirectly, that impact how we lead and help those around us develop their internal capabilities (what a person is able to do or to be) as productive contributors to our teams and communities.  We are by nature social beings and learn, for better or worse, a person’s perception of not just our abilities, but our perceived worth or value.  We all develop our social identities through the groups we associate with.  Think about what this means given the innate power difference that exists between leaders and their teams.  Do we demonstrate an appreciation of the different capabilities of those we work with and celebrate their contributions?  Do we consistently push our teams to continue to grow and refine their abilities, to do and to be all that they are capable of?

As leaders, this is a question should regularly reflect on.  Not whether or not we are accepting less than we deserve – but are we ensuring that we offer our teams no less than they deserve?

Open to Difference

In my last post, I discussed a shift in the dialogue occurring at colleges and universities across the country, or in more specific terms the decline in and avoidance of open dialogue.  This is the first in a series of subsequent posts where I attempt to dive deeper in this idea, and my call for a return to open dialogue and an acceptance of diverse thought and opinion. The first step in this journey is an examination of some historical views on the role of education.

The principles underlying modern thought on the role of education in a democratic society can be traced to some of the earliest writing concerning education in America.  Scholars such as Walter Feinberg tell us that some of the earliest goals of education were the promotion of a common national identity that reinforced and reproduced existing social structures.  However, as cultural diversity grew and civil rights took hold across the country, educational institutions had to adapt to a new social paradigm.  The old ideas proved problematic and inequities continued.

In order to promote a sense of shared belonging, James Stillwagon found that schools needed to educate students on 3 tenets: 1) citizenship is shared by members of different cultural groups; 2) citizens are expected to show partiality to their nation and fellow citizens; 3) citizens from different cultural groups are expected to be partial to each other even if they must distance themselves from members of their cultural group from a different nation.  But how did we get here?

One of our nation’s founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, believed that it was possible for individuals to improve themselves through education.  It was his belief that all people are born with a set of innate abilities and sense of moral values.  As such, he recognized the role of institutions of education to help form a person’s character, and therefore believed that only those with extraordinary ability and wisdom should receive the necessary education to do so.  Horace Mann extended on Jefferson’s ideas and argued that all should have equality of opportunity in order to promote democracy.  Ultimately, Dewey had the largest impact on providing a broad, non-individualistic view through equal opportunity.  In addition, he saw education as being the foundation for effective citizenship; more so citizenship in a diverse society, including diversity of belief.

To move to a more contemporary perspective, Amy Guttman based her position largely on Dewey’s ideas and the concept of negative liberty, i.e. free from domination or coercion.  This means she perceives the role of education promoting democratic values by promoting and supporting students’ exploration of their own values and to have freedom from ideological repression.  Colleges and universities are meant to defend the individual’s rights to free and autonomous self-creation, and in so doing they support a continued free and democratic state.

How is it that colleges and universities accomplish this feat?  Sharon Fraser-Burgess posited it can be accomplished by simply allowing the free and open dialogue and using this as an opportunity to educate the citizenry on the skills and virtues of open democratic deliberation; to continually construct the moral substance dictated by the virtues of a moral deliberative democracy.  The enforcement of a single ideal through education only subverts contemporary democratic ideals.  Educational institutions must be free from constraint if they are to preserve the intellectual and social foundations of a deliberative democracy.

Lost Ideas

I had a hard time thinking about the next topic to write.  No, not because I had nothing to say – believe me that is NOT a problem (ask anyone who knows me!).  Actually, I had a hard time picking a topic.  The topic I landed on is one that I hold very close professionally.  It is something that I focus on every day at work.  Ask yourself this, what is the purpose of higher education?

Obviously, this is not something I am going to attempt to explore in a single post.  I say explore because different views exist on this question.  Instead, what I want to do is share why this question is, or at least should be, so pervasive today.  I will follow up with additional posts where I explore this idea in more depth.

If you are like me and follow higher education in the news (yes – this is a thing) you understand why I say this.  If not, keep reading.  Actually, everyone please keep reading!

So, where to start? Before I begin, please, please, please know that to me this topic is completely apolitical.  I believe it has become wrongly politicized. I have been in higher education for about 12 years now, and an administrator for a good portion of that time.  When I began my career in higher education, I was certain that my role as a faculty member, and later an administrator, was and still is to protect and promote the rigor, integrity, and freedom of voice and thought that academia represents.  This does not mean allowing a single perspective or political view (remember, to me this idea is apolitical) to be presented to the detriment of others.  Rather, it means allowing all perspectives to be shared in the public space that is academia.

Yes, that’s right, in order to promote freedom of voice and thought, I believe that the role of higher education is to protect and defend the rights of all people to freely share their ideas, not silence those that we disagree with.  What are our options then?  We, as academicians, are to use our expertise to provide evidence that supports and refutes the ideas presented to help educate the broader citizenry.  Notice, I didn’t say that our role was to provide value judgments to the broader citizenry.  Rather, we as experts in our own fields should guide the citizenry through the cognitive dissonance that conflicting ideas present and help them to arrive at THEIR own value judgements.

Unfortunately, that is not what has been occurring in the past few years.  Instead, we see protests on both the left and the right to silence opposing viewpoints rather than promoting meaningful dialogue to arrive at mutual understanding (this does not necessarily mean agreement!).    Schools are removing conservative philosophers from the reading lists, removing the idea of liberal from the liberal arts, and on and on.  How is this freedom of thought?  How does this promote dialogue?  When does it stop becoming education and turn into brainwashing?

My impression from the current news is that my ideas on this topic put me in the minority in academia, and if so, that’s OK.  Let’s dialogue.  I hope you will join me over my next few posts as I present the philosophies and research that support my thinking and align my ideas with the tenets of supporting a free democracy.  Over the next few posts, we will explore concepts in history, liberalism, human capital theory, and human capabilities that, I believe, will support my call for a return to broader dialogue in higher education.

Why am I Blogging?

I have been thinking about starting a blog for some time.  And yes, I really am a doctor.  No, not the medical kind. I faint at the sight of blood.  It wouldn’t be a good idea.  No, I have a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) in Educational Sociology.

So, what got me to the point of actually starting a blog?  I have ideas and opinions like everyone else.  These ideas and opinions have been shaped by a caring family and an exciting and interesting life.  My father was in the military, so I had the amazing benefit of experiencing a lot of varied cultures during my formative years.  Each of these cultures had an impact on my worldview.  My parents also encouraged me to be open with my thinking and not to be afraid of debate or varied opinion.  Needless to say, election times are always interesting in my house…  We’ll save that for later.

So why start a blog?  I’m getting there, trust me.

I also have this thing for quotes, you know those inspirational quotes or quotes by famous people.  I like to read and think about them.  Every now and then I run across one that I print and frame or that I just can’t forget.  I think this really had an impact on my desire to pursue a higher education.  One quote has been with me since my undergraduate program.  “Intelligence is not always knowing the answer, it is always asking the question,” (Maya Angelou).  Dr. Angelou’s writings have always been an inspiration for me.  I think this quote, along with encouragement from my parents, really pushed me to pursue my doctoral studies.  It’s a quote that I share with my colleagues and students regularly.  It epitomizes how I think.

Okay, but why a blog and why now?  I’m almost there.

Recently, my mother shared a quote with me.  She thinks it reflects who I am as a scholar as well.  We were talking about my blog and she said, “Quit talking about it and just do it already. You have a lot of great ideas to share!” Thanks mom.  Anyways, here is the quote she shared from Steve Jobs, and it will drive the context of my blog:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.  Don’t be tapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.  Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

So that’s why I started my blog now.  I see and hear so many people take everything they see and hear in the news or the internet at face value.  So many people quote others’ ideas and get stuck in group think – drowning out who they really are or could be.  There are always two sides to every story – and the truth is usually somewhere in the middle.  So, that’s the point of my blog.  A chance for me to share my thoughts and my thinking about what I see and hear on my own journey of thought.