Archive for January, 1970
There’s a pit in my stomach…
Well, tonight is our first lecture event in the lecture series sponsored by our Student Government Association and I have a pit in my stomach. This “pit feeling” is probably familiar to many of you, as it’s defined by the “advisor’s dictionary of run on sentences” as…
“that pit in your stomach when you know you’ve supported your student leaders all you can without doing the program for them but no matter how many times you ask about specific details you still know that they aren’t going to have a good attendance and aren’t prepared because it doesn’t seem like they are always paying attention when you talk to them…” feeling.
I’m an experienced advisor. I know the balance between training, checklists, and “on the job” experience that students need to be successful. However, sometimes they just need to do it. Yes, I know that this student I’m taking about is inexperienced. Yes, I know that I have a role in helping to save her from failure for her events.
However, how is she going to learn if I do it all for her? Is it ok for her to experience an event that has low attendance? I always ask, “what’s the consequence of failure? What’s the risk?”
I confess to you, the SABlog community, that I am hereby pushing her into the “cold swimming pool” of event responsibility. I’m staying right next to her with a life raft at every turn, but if she chooses to keep swimming in this wacky direction I need to just go with her and let it happen.
Have you ever been in this position?
I’ll let you know how tonight goes.
Source: Cindy Kane