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Member LoginCareer Exploration: It’s not just for college seniors
Thursday, March 15, 2007
By Jim Van WingerdenI had a conversation with a parent this week who was concerned that her first-year student, though doing well in his studies, seemed to be “drifting” through the first year without a definite career path in sight. As best she knew he had not yet selected a major or a program at Calvin. “Should we be concerned?” Several times she had suggested that he visit the Career Development Office and talk with a career counselor, but fears that her nagging has had a reverse effect.
I assured this parent that many first-year (and 2nd and 3rd year) students and parents are having similar conversations, and she need not be overly concerned. The Calvin curriculum, with its’ many core requirements, allows students to sample and browse many choices of majors and programs during the first couple of years at Calvin. In fact most first-year students arrive on campus undecided, and many of them who have a specific direction in mind end up choosing a different path.
I like to think of these students more as “explorers” than “undecided.” Explorers are embraced at Calvin. A liberal arts education is ideally suited for just such a student, providing a bountiful smorgasbord of choices and possibilities.
5.6 percent
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
By Jim Van WingerdenIn 1985 Calvin College adopted a governing document which was quite unique amongst its peers in higher education: The Comprehensive Plan for Integrating North American Ethnic Minority Persons and Their Interests in Every Facet of Calvin’s Institutional Life. The Comprehensive Plan, re-written and re-embraced in 2004 as a new document entitled From Every Nation (FEN), continues to provide guidance as Calvin’s principal road map towards becoming a genuinely multicultural Christian academic community.
The original Comprehensive Plan set an aggressive goal: that by 2003-2004, 15 percent of the student body, roughly 600 students, would constitute North American minority, or AHANA students. AHANA is Calvin’s designation for students of African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, and Native American descent.
Today, AHANA students comprise 5.6 percent of Calvin’s student body--235 students to be precise. (This percentage does not include any of Calvin’s 315 international students). The AHANA percentage is slightly higher for faculty and staff at 6.5 percent, equaling 56 faculty/staff members.
Why has Calvin fallen short of the goal of 15 percent? To be sure, the reasons are numerous and complex.
Every time my phone DOESN’T ring it’s you
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
By Jim Van WingerdenMy brother shared the above comment with me a few weeks ago. I thought it a clever way for him to make a point. (I also took the hint). It also reminds me that this Weblog has been silent for a few months so here I am to deposit my 50 cents.
That phrase also reminds me of a recent conversation with a parent who shared his concern that he wasn’t hearing very much from his first-year student. His son had been quite open and communicative with both mom and dad during the high school years, but once he started at Calvin the frequency and quality of their conversations had dwindled. The few conversations they were having were marked at best by monosyllabic responses to dad’s and mom’s questions.
This dad expressed a concern that I believe resonates with other college parents: “Am I loosing my son/daughter? Should we be concerned?”
Although I’m not an expert on these matters, I shared that I’ve talked to many Calvin parents and this experience is not uncommon. Here are a few points we discussed:
Thanksgiving
Saturday, November 18, 2006
By Jim Van WingerdenThe phone rang at 12:30 am this morning. I was still up, having just talked with my 16-year old on the cell phone, asking when he expected to be home (every parent of a teenager has been there). He, his 9th grade brother and three other friends were on their way home from a pizza gathering after the high school play performance.
“Dad,” his voice sounded distressed. “I’m at the corner of the East Beltline and Leonard. Our car just got hit. Can you please come right away?”
“Is everyone ok? Is anybody injured?”
“No one’s hurt. Just please come right away, ok?”
I was there in four minutes. An ambulance, fire truck and the sheriff were already on the scene.
Both cars were totaled. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured. A few bruises and minor cuts. Some very shaken up teenage boys.
“I’m sorry, Dad. It wasn’t my fault. The guy ran a red light.”
“I don’t care about the car—I’m just so thankful that everyone is ok.”
The next hour was bit of a blur. Hours later, after all forms were signed, cars were towed away, everyone was where they had to be, our boys were asleep. Mary and I were not.
As I lay in bed recounting the events I kept thinking: “If the impact had happened two seconds earlier, we’d be in the hospital right now—or perhaps worse.”
I’m not usually one to play the “what if” and the “if only” games. It’s not productive and it doesn’t change events. But as I lay there, trying to fall asleep, I felt helpless as a parent. Instinctively, I want to protect my children from such events. Every parent (especially those of teenagers and college students) has been there too.
Should I get involved in a dispute with a professor?
Friday, November 03, 2006
By Jim Van WingerdenA parent asked for some advice today. The question: “How involved should I get in a dispute that my student is having with a professor?”
I thanked her for asking the question. Some parents don’t even get that far—their parental “wiring” tells them to jump right in, elbows deep, and resolve the situation on behalf of or with their son or daughter.
My response was this--listen well, offer support and encouragement, maybe even suggest a course of action, but ultimately let your student resolve the situation with the professor.
The parent sighed and shared that her head agreed with me--her son did need to start taking charge of these situations on his own. “But it’s so hard to not get involved!” Her heart, her parental instincts, told her that a simple phone call to the professor would likely resolve the immediate situation.
This is not an easy question to consider as a parent. You want what is best for your children and you want to see them treated fairly. Sometimes a parent’s involvement may be expedient toward an end to THIS particular situation. But isn’t the goal to equip these young men and women to handle the NEXT situation on their own? Each of us, our students included, eventually needs to take charge of life’s challenges.
It’s not so important to always know the answer the question posed above. Perhaps, in some instances, it is necessary to get involved as a parent. It’s very important, however, to at least stop and ask the question. Stopping to ask the question is a valuable parenting skill, and is half the battle in helping our students to help themselves.