23

Today at Parents' Day, after my remarks, a woman asked me if I really expected freshmen to approach their teachers and ask them about their strengths and weaknesses. I suggested that faculty members, especially those that teach first-year students, are excited by the prospect of students seeking such assessments.

She asked me again, this time emphasizing the gravitas of the situation. Freshmen. Faculty. How could freshmen find the courage to ask faculty [such] questions? And I thnk implicit in her question was a fear that faculty would not find time for, nor tolerate, such questions.

"Wewant students to be self-directed in their learning," I said. "We take their learning seriously, and we hope that they do, too." She understood the words, but I knew it was a bit of a challenge to acept, and a bit of a challenge to sell to her daughter.

"Tell your daughter to talk to her instructors after class. It's easier then. Tell her to ask to set up an appointment when they can meet and she can ask questions. Tell to to ask questions about where they think her particular talents are leading her. A discussion will ensue."

One of the great opportunities in higher education is the conference. Some faculty are good at scheduling these for their students. But students need to learn early on to seek these out, to go out and create conversations. They have to learn to strike up conversations they do not know they need or do not know how to conduct. It statrts by just talking.

Education is dialogic.