Class Reflection #4 - The End?

So here is today... the last day of Student Development. What have I learned through this course? How are these theories going to aid me in my quest to help students through times of need and which theory is best in which situation. The main thing that I learned is that Chickering is to theory as Michael Jackson is to pop and Elvis is to Rock N' Roll; the King. I am not one of his royal subjects though because all I can remember is the fact that he has 7 vectors and that the second one is Managing Emotions. So next year if one of the 1st years asks me about Chickering I will reply with "Managing Emotions?"

On a more serious note the one thing that I learned in the class is that the student's opinion matters. I know that this seems like a no brainer, but I do not think that this fact is on a lot of people's minds when they start the class. They come in the class thinking I am going to learn all these theories that will help me understand the student, before they understand themselves. The fact is that these theories can only give you guidance, not answers. They guide you to where the student may be and what some approached might be in order to best help the student, not diagnose them like a psychologist that you are not, unless you really do have the training in that capacity. I really did not think about this until we were reviewing Schlossberg's theory and how the student must say that they are going through a transition for it to really be a transition  I stated to think isn't that the case with most of the theories? The student must identify something in order for it to fit in the theory. For example the Cross Racial Identity theory says that there must be an encounter that the student goes through and they will dive deeper into their race. Well the student would have to identify that that encounter was a moment that they become aware of their race and then really agree with the diving into the race aspect. As I shared last reflection post I had an encounter, but to say that I dived into my race and was proving to the world that I am black and proud I would say would be going too far.  

A key tool that we explored in class are the assessment test like MBTI, Holland Code, and True Colors (the latter not being discussed in class). The assessments makes learning about oneself entertaining, if you have the right materials. It lets the student have fun while see why they get along with certain people or why certain environments have been deemed more beneficial to the student. I found it interesting that my personality did not change for MBTI but my percentages did. I was happy with the percentages changes as I think that they finally were correct. I wish as a class we did True Color as it is my favorite personality assessment  I love comparing colors and trying to match people with the 2 color combo and seeing if I am right or what the person has to say about it. Doing these assessments in group are things I look forward to because you can learn so much about your classmates. 

As my first year of grad school comes to an end, I can honestly say that this has been my favorite class thus far. I liked here and evaluating each theory. The more theories that a professional knows the better they can help students. I think the most important part about the theories listed in the book is the application base of the text. Even if you do not understand the full details of what the theorist wants learning why a certain application is recommended can help bridge that gap.