One Week Down

I can't believe we are already at the end of the first week of the fall semester! Time has flown by. I love when students are back on campus. It has been a productive start despite being short handed and having many new people on board. I always tell our new people that in the academic world, it takes a good two years to really understand and be able to effectively improve work.

That comes as a surprise to new hires, but the academic year has many once-a-year activities. The first year you encounter something like Open House, for example, everything is new and a bit confusing. You aren't sure how to prepare, what to expect. You have no idea of the pacing or even the goal of the event.

The second year, you pay less attention to all the pieces because you know what to expect, having lived through it once. You are more aware of the broader issues, the big brush strokes. You have something with which to compare the success or failure of the event. By the third year, you remember what worked, what didn't, what you noted that could be improved, etc. and you are ready to make changes for reasons you understand. You have a sense of the impact of those choices and who will be affected by them. You can find ways to make the changes that will be less difficult for those involved to handle.

Too bad we don't get that same kind of opportunity for all of life's events. We expect people to make permanent decisions without understanding the consequences of their choices. For example, our students must declare a major without really knowing whether their personality and skill sets would be a good match for that kind of job. We expect people to know whether a marriage is a good idea before they have learned how to manage simpler relationships. We want people to make decisions about health care options without really knowing the implications of their choices.

Sure wish some of these activities could give us a trial run or a couple years exposure before we start jumping in there and making decisions! At least there is the small consolation of knowing that hindsight can be helpful for moving forward.