• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1983-09-15_Vol48_No07_03

Greg Ryder a Professor: Ask For Help! »9 Relationships . . . Let's play word-of-the-week again. This week's word is relations, not to be confused with kin, but the type friends, roommates and lovers have, or in many cases don't have. Relations are like beets, when strained no one really likes the results. Relationships are one ofthe most rewarding parts of a college career. In the few years one spends at a university a large number of the friends made are more or less permanent. College based friendships have been the starting grounds for some of the largest corporations in America. So 1 am constantly amazed at the way relations go haywire, and often end a painful parting of friends. What a waste. In the world at large today strained relations seem to be the name ofthe game (some game). Tension between the Soviet Union and the United States has never seemed so fierce. In the Middle East strained relations have turned an entire nation into a battle field. Thousands are homeless.and the dead virtually uncountable. Similar circumstances seem overly prevelent in this area of late, though with less severe casualties. There is some thought in the world of meteorology that the effects ofa strange, powerful ocean current have caused some recent weather problems. "El Nino", which begins off the coast ofthe South American continent, has caused the drought that ruined North Carolina's corn and tobacco crops some say. Could such a strong force effect the trigger fingers, and middle fingers of people world-wide? (a little Twilight Zone music seems appropriate) As the son ofa Southern Baptist minister it might be easy to get a bit preachy ... goodness knows I've heard my share. But I never really "got into" preaching, especially the listening end. Many would think this editorial as rambling as many a Sunday sermon, so be it. I confess confusion as to exactly what to say, about this business of relations that is. Having spent the day this was due watching a close-to-home relationship strain and tear seems to have had its effect. So to close ... My mother is a psychologist and I have spent many a dinner listening to her and the preacher talking relationships. They did a bit of marriage counsoling too ...and I was fascinated as to why things went wrong for the grownups, who in my mind had everything, except, quite often, happiness. I learned that relationships between people, especially between close friends, are easier to mend than broken doors or fingers, sometimes. But often people are content to destroy a good thing because they don't feel responsible or caring enough to give it another try. What a waste. GOODNITE PEACHES 1983 NEW FEATURES SYNDICATE inc. Paul Falzone In more than twenty years as a college teacher and administrator, I think I've found an interesting way to predict which students will succeed in school. My criterion isn't intelligence or diligence or good luck, although all of these things are important. The trait that I look for is willingness to ask for help, and fewer people than you might expect exhibit this characteristic. Our culture is highly individualistic. All of us grow up valuing independence. We like to solve our problems on our own, arrive at our achievements solely on the basis of our own efforts. We come to feel that it is a sign of weakness to ask for help. We should, we think, do things totally on our own. Of course, it is not useful to ask for help before one tries to solve a problem on one's own. Yet our individualistic ethos leads us to irrational extremes. Once we engage a problem, it is only sensible to ask for help from those with different perspectives on the problem, or from people with greater knowledge and experience. The student, for example, who strategically seeks help froma professor may well avoid unnecessary barriers and frustrations. Such students will use their time and resources well. Foolish pride or fear will prevent other students—some of them very able—from asking for help and therefore from fulfilling their potential more fully. This Learning World Richard Meisler One of the most interesting and unfortunate aspects of the academic world is that this reluctance to ask for help is even more severe among professors than it is among students. Especially when it comes to their performance in the classroom, the quality of professorial work is, for this reason, generally much lower than it needs to be. When 1 was a young faculty member, 1 joined the staff of the college from which 1 had graduated only recently. 1 joined my former professors as a colleague, and 1 hung around the faculty lounge.joininginthe conversations which had previously been unavailable to me. 1 had often speculated about what was being said behind those closed doors. When the topic of teaching came up, 1 was startled. The faculty members generally made two kinds of statements. They criticized students and praised themselves. The students, they said, were lazy, uninterested, ill-prepared, and uninspired. The teacher's task, they said, was to coax and threaten students into action. They, the professors, on the other hand, were hard-working, imaginative, and blessed with a saintly patience that was generally exploited by the students. Having recently servec my time as the student of some of these very same paragons, I noticed slight distortions in their view of things. As time passed, 1 found that teaching was much harder than 1 expected it to be. My attention shifted from the self-serving delusions of faculty members to one of its causes: isolation. In matters of classroom performance and behavior, professors are terribly isolated from each other. Their exchanges are limited to bragging and negative remarks about students because there are few traditions or norms for sharing difficulties and seeking help. The professional ethos of academia makes professors masters in their classrooms, and what happens there is nobody else's business. Hardworking, sincere, well- intentioned teachers do not improve as rapidly as they might because they are afraid to ask colleagues for help and because there are few structures to assist them in seeking any kind of support in their teaching. To some extent, the situation can be rectified by professors who are willing to ask colleagues and students for help. They will, of course have to violate some customs and even swallow some pride. But it will be worth it. Here are some suggestions, and most instructors will be able to devise others that suit their own needs: a) Ask a departmental colleague to meet with your class for half of a class period. Stay out of the room while your class and your colleague discuss the way the course has been going. Come back to the second half of the class and ask them to summarize their discussion and make suggestions for improving the class. b) Establish a routine in which you tell your class, every two weeks or so, the ways in which you think the class (especially your performance) isn't going as well as you think it could. Ask for their views and solicit their suggestions. c) Form a feedback committee consisting of students from your class. Meet with the group every two or three weeks, share your feelings about the course, and ask the members for their comments and suggestions. d) Every so often ask your students to write you a letter about their views of the class and their suggestions for improvement. There are obviously many ways to go about asking for help. It can also be painful and frightening. The important thing is not the particular method a person uses, but that a start be made. Co-Op Info Steve Crawford Staff Writer New Programs cont. from page 1 of two-year programs in health sciences also makes the need for this graduate program critical." In proposing the Natural Resources Management Program, WCU said its School of Arts and Sciences' biology, chemistry, geology and geography disciplines already have developed strong instructional, research and service programs that "strongly relate to the natural resource base of the region we serve." It said a new "multidis- ciplinary and integrated approach to the management of natural resources is the need of the future." The program is especially needed in WNC, the university said. "One of the keys to the economic, social, and cultural development of Western North Carolina is the wise stewardship of its natural resources. The extensive forests, the limited agricultural lands, the abundant streams and the mineral deposits must be managed for maximum use in a way that will conserve them for future generations." What do you want to be? A computer programmer? Corrections Officer? Chemist? Accountant'.' fashion Buyer? Financial Analyst? Technical Writer? Nurse? Sales Representative? Let Co-op help you decide. Start now in making preparations to enhance your academic study with career-related work experi ence. A resume-writing/in terview workshop will be held Thursday, Sept. 14, 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm, and again on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm. On-campus interviews for spring and summer positions will be held as follows: Central Intelligence Agency-Wed. and Thurs., Sept 21 and 22, Computer Science and Computer Information Systems majors; Montanan Residential Treatment Center-Mon. and Tues., Sept. 26 and 27, Special Education, Psychology, Nursing, Social Work, and Health and Physical Education majors; Walt Disney World-Mon. Oct. 3, required presentation, 9:00 am, UC Grandroom, open to all majors. Contact Co-op Staff in 20 McKee or call 227 7133 for details. The Co-op Club is planning a "kick-off" cookout on Sept. 16, from 3 to 6 pm at the new picnic area by the track. We will discuss our plans for the fall. We have some potentially exciting activities planned for the fall so be sure and get involved. Our main goal for the year is to build a strong membership, so bring a friend who is interested in co-oping. Remember, members do not have to be "co-ops." We need a headcount for the picnic so please call Bill Brown (6273) or the Co-op Office (7133) if you can attend. QUARTERFLASH Oct. 1419*3 GUARTERFL ASH SPECIAL 5 TOKENS FOR $1 at the GOLD MINE VIDEO ARCADE Featuring: Ms. PacMan, (.alaga, Defender, Centipede. Donkey Kong, Tempest, Stargate, Omega Race, Space Duel, Phoenix, Zaxxon, Pinball, & More NEXT DOOR TO THE CULLOWHEE QUIK-STOP AND QUIK-WASH Which features 24 new Maytag washers & dryers and it's "air-conditioned" Exit under pedestrian crosswalk open till 11 p.m. ALPHA EPSILON RHO Broadcasting Society invites anyone interested in broadcasting to a reception on Thursday Sept. 22 at 6:30 in the TV Studio Killian 132.

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 1983-09-15
  • Date digitized: 2019-01-31
• Extent
  • Dimension: 15" x 11.5"
  • Pages: 10 pages
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1983-09-15_Vol48_No07
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library