Day 3 of New Semester

Today is the third day of the new semester.  I am tired and I do not know why.  Perhaps it was the energy I expended in my small honors class or case study we did in human resource management.  Perhaps it is the let down from the adrenaline rush of starting the new semester and now getting into the swing of things.  Whatever the reason, I am tired.

It is also sobering to find out where the students are at in their life?  I asked in my honors class who has read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which I read (and loved) during vacation.  I got back blank stares.  Not only had they not read it they did not know what the hell I was talking about.  I told them the story of the three novels and how popular they are and the sad passing of the author before the books hit it big.  That did not move the needle on the "I am now more interested in perhaps reading that book" meter.  Pressing them a bit further, it turns out that they do not really read books....or magazines....or newspapers.  Indeed the two books they will read and then write reflection papers in my honors class might be the only two books they will read -- not including text books -- this year!

What am I trying to say?  The world I live in at 55 years old is not even remotely close to the one that the 18, 19, 20, or 21 year-old kid is living in.  I love to read books and read lots of them.  They do not since information has always been at the finger tips to type away on the keyboard and not turn a page.  It means I am always going to have to do all I can to reach each new class of students so I can connect the students to the learning.  No doubt the basic things we are teaching them in culinary arts and hospitality will not change all that much but the way in which I perform teaching for learning has to constantly change and the reason we need our learning community to help each other make the transition.

I hope your new semester or term is going well.  If it is or is not please share by responding to this post or sending me a short story that I can post in response to today's blog post.