The Art of Being Human

I read a wonderful article in the Chronicle of Higher Education the other day entitled, "To Help Students Succeed Professionally and Personally, Teach the Art of Being Human" by Lisa Dolling.  In her article, Dolling pointed out that you cannot separate the personal vs. professional in higher education.  She remarked, "Either you believe the purpose of going to college is to be able to secure a (preferably high paying job), or you think there is something more intrinsically valuable to be gained from the years spent earning a degree...developing the intellectual capacities needed to succeed as professionals and  human beings" (Dolling).

Teaching the art of being human...

So, I began to think about how I teach students to be more human.  What do I do to model humanity in my classroom?  So, began the quest to be more intentional about teaching this supposed lost art.

I thought about how I write with my students.  We do writing prompts in class and I ask them to reflect on a subject. We write together and I share my product with them.  Sometimes, I am on it.  I did what I intended to do in my writing and I am proud of it.  Other times, I laugh at myself because when I read something I have written out loud to them, sometimes it just doesn't make any sense.  So, I laugh at myself...with them.  I thought this was showing them I was human, but there is more to achieve than just laughing at my foibles.

Human.  Teaching the art of being human.  Hmm....compassion, maybe?

In my class, I ask students to dedicate 2 hours per semester on a service learning project.  This project is where they go out into our community and volunteer their time at a local food bank, animal shelter, homeless shelter...whatever they choose.  Then, they write about their experience as part of our final project for the course.  My intention is to teach students that they are not only part of our writing community in class, but part of a greater community out there in the world.  I want them to know how fortunate they are to be pursuing a higher education.  Through service, I am able to reflect on how grateful I am for my family and how I lucky I am to be teaching.  Service learning is a reminder of how human we are.

Compassion, humility...what else is there?  I think that teaching the art of being human starts in your class when you are given the opportunity to share your feelings and opinions through writing.  I encourage students to draw from their experiences to learn from one another.  Some of my veterans choose to process their thoughts about what they observed in war.  These observations are the most haunting, yet revealing cathartic exercises.  I am honored to have them share these reflections with me.  Other students reflect on difficult decisions they have made in the past; whether it is to move to another area or leave a marriage in which they are being physically or emotionally abused.  It is humbling that students trust me, or their fellow students in our classroom, enough to share these all too human situations.

Writing allows us the opportunity to explore the art of being human because it invites the author to draw from personal experiences and reflect on their choices.  Writing in a college course is more than just regurgitating facts or structures of writing.  It is the invitation to the human experience.  Write about it.  Express how you feel.  Tell us your thoughts...

As a result of Lisa Dolling's fine article, I am going to be more aware of how I teach students, not only how to be good writers, but how to be human.  I will need to do some self-reflection on this topic as I am still a work in progress as well.

Here is a link to her article. I hope you enjoy it!  http://chronicle.com/article/To-Help-Students-Succeed/228281