#CSAM18 Day 31: Wrap Up of 31 Days of Theory
This was quite the project, and I underestimated the amount of time and energy it would take. I had to re-read or re-skim a bunch of theories and articles, spent time Googling authors, found additional resources when the Green Book/Bible of our profession fell short of what I needed. I spent time away from doing what I normally do to re-learn and write and Tweet.
I was amazed at how some of the theories I re-researched are so applicable to some of the things I’m encountering at my new job. I should just bring all of these articles with me, and say “we’re doing this wrong” and read and analyze what these authors have already said and done. I could bring Kuh, and Astin, and Tinto along with me everywhere. But they’d be discounted by others, they wouldn’t be enough, because of the hubris we’re taught within our professional cultures.
I’m kind of sad that I’m wrapping this up, but proud that I made it through the month. I wish I could have written and branched out some more. For example, I could have spent time reviewing Critical Race Theory. Could have interrogated each theory using CRT lens and how CRT impacts us every time we try to understand experiences of others.
I could have re-categorized each theory, putting them somewhere else, grouped with different authors, because most theories touch on multiple aspects of life.
I could have tried to find all authors of color or all women, but that would mean eliminating the history of power structures and patriarchy within our discipline.
I could have kept all theories to those before 1990. Or before 1980. Could have kept them to the true foundations of student affairs and how it branched out of higher education.
I hope the choices I made, for better or worse, were at least as helpful to others as they were to me. I hope that we remember that Careers in Student Affairs month is more than just an advertisement about our jobs. Some time our jobs are shitty and thankless and we have days, weeks, or months of bad experiences. But we can all use theory, can all become familiar with it, to help us connect better with our students.
Careers in Student Affairs Month happens every October, be on the lookout for plans for #CSAM19
I was amazed at how some of the theories I re-researched are so applicable to some of the things I’m encountering at my new job. I should just bring all of these articles with me, and say “we’re doing this wrong” and read and analyze what these authors have already said and done. I could bring Kuh, and Astin, and Tinto along with me everywhere. But they’d be discounted by others, they wouldn’t be enough, because of the hubris we’re taught within our professional cultures.
I’m kind of sad that I’m wrapping this up, but proud that I made it through the month. I wish I could have written and branched out some more. For example, I could have spent time reviewing Critical Race Theory. Could have interrogated each theory using CRT lens and how CRT impacts us every time we try to understand experiences of others.
I could have re-categorized each theory, putting them somewhere else, grouped with different authors, because most theories touch on multiple aspects of life.
I could have tried to find all authors of color or all women, but that would mean eliminating the history of power structures and patriarchy within our discipline.
I could have kept all theories to those before 1990. Or before 1980. Could have kept them to the true foundations of student affairs and how it branched out of higher education.
I hope the choices I made, for better or worse, were at least as helpful to others as they were to me. I hope that we remember that Careers in Student Affairs month is more than just an advertisement about our jobs. Some time our jobs are shitty and thankless and we have days, weeks, or months of bad experiences. But we can all use theory, can all become familiar with it, to help us connect better with our students.
Careers in Student Affairs Month happens every October, be on the lookout for plans for #CSAM19
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