Shifting my own perceptions - or - A funny thing happened to me on Twitter the other day

As a student worker and leader, I have come to realize that many of the faculty and staff at my community college seem to operate as if making work easier for themselves will lead to a better learning environment for students. This thought began to grow out of a tweet I saw by SA blogger Kevin Prentis. While I don’t remember the exact wording it was something like, “schools ask ‘how has this been done before’ 5-6 steps [or so] prior to asking ‘how will this impact students.’” I have seen this approach while revamping our club/organization's handbook and in the development of a web portal for students, faculty and staff. I take this statement to represent the assumption that their most important “problem” to solve, or goal to reach is smooth implementation of policy and procedure - from an administrative standpoint. While working to make things easier for the “end-users” of a project and taking stress off of faculty and staff is a great thing (something I would gladly cheer for) I don’t think there is a direct correlation between an easier day at the office and a better learning experience for students.

Sometimes streamlining doesn’t really assist processes and can take the focus off of the students. Pounding my head against a wall of paperwork and trying to follow expectations that have been passed down can get in the way of affecting constructive change or simply doing something fun. When students feel ways of doing things are not necessary and try to get around the system, I have seen their efforts viewed as challenges to authority. Directors and coordinators step in with a firm assertion of their roles and, though they listen to student’s reasoning it seems half hearted at times. I feel lucky that my supervisors say that they are working for students and I’ve seen them act upon their convictions, but there have been times when I feel my ideas have gotten stifled or dismissed for no better reason than “that’s not how we/others do/have done things.”

While I get frustrated with this answer and its outcomes, I try to look at most challenges as a learning experience. “What’s the lesson” has become a sort of mantra when frustrated or unsure how to continue. When I am shot down, seemingly out of hand I have to dig a little deeper. I try to find an answer if for nothing more than my own piece of mind. Many times I come to the conclusion that I might not have expressed myself clearly, or I am unaware of all the influences surrounding an issue. Politics certainly exist in any large group of people and school systems are often great examples of aggressive human interaction. I have to realize that some issues concerning me might not really be about me at all, a sort of hard pill to swallow. I also think that many times I overestimate my own understanding of an issue. I can miss the point entirely and become so wrapped up in the frustration of a situation that I fail to recognize the knot of emotions impeding my own thought process.

One basic assumption that all of this searching has brought me to is kind of complex; the people I work for, who profess to be ultimately working for me, do have the basic motivation of helping students. They feel their goals will ultimately benefit students. This is their motivation for seeking change or standing in the way of changes they disagree with. So maybe the statement that Kevin made has some more background to it that I may have overlooked when reacting to the truncated nature of the tweet. If we trust that our administrators are in fact working to makes school a more productive place for students, they probably ask themselves how will this benefit students many times each day. So when I look at the steps taken in a certain project, I might not fully appreciate all the steps involved. I still think it’s a shame there isn’t necessarily an open discussion about the impact on students before people consider the impact to their work, legal considerations, etc., but I am also guilty of the same thought process.

Maybe my first question should be a deeper “why” when looking into my inability to create change. I might have more success if I don’t assume resistance to my ideas is caused by belligerent adherence to "the way things are." Our education system certainly needs new ideas and a lot of changes in perception, but my being shot down doesn’t automatically mean my supervisors are opposed to change for the better, regardless of my own convictions. Maybe they are teaching me how to make changes that will aid a bigger picture that I might not have enough experience to fully appreciate; they may be teaching me how to make changes that last rather than changes that just make my life easier. Of course this assumes that administrators really are looking out for students. There are individuals that only look out for their paychecks and professional standing, but I have to admit I’ve found (in my limited experience) that this is the exception rather than the rule.

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