A New Philosophy

With the journey of my voice project and being introduced to documents, theories, history, and foundations, I have come to an update outlook on maneuvering through the avenues of the higher education landscape.  Through readings and soon to be practice; accountability, pro-activeness with intent, practice backed by theory, advocacy, and collaboration are now key components to my higher education philosophy.

A New Philosophy

When looking at the individuals who made an impact on my college experience, all shared the same characteristic of being a role model.  With being a good example of values, knowledge, and outlook comes accountability.  Though these people were busy, they never let me down and displayed excellence in all aspects of their lives, since I got to know them outside of the classroom or office as well.  The Principles of Good Practice (1997) states that we, as professionals must set "high expectations for student learning".  With this being said, I say, in order to set expectations we must meet expectations of our students, community, staff, and faculty.  This may be in the way we dress, the actions we do, or the words we say.  Though never to push our values on students it is important to live by a moral code of ethics.  These will help guide our practices and set those high personal aspirations and expectations.  Accountability should be included in this ethical code.  Students and faculty should be able to depend on professionals to conduct quality practices in higher education.

Through creating a voice, it allowed me to draw upon the theories in order to dissect Noor and create recommendations to assist her on her journey.  When using theories, I believe, that a balance must be struck between context, personal theory, and proven theory.  One should not solely rely on theory because it is recent or has been tested.  A student affairs professional should be a reflective practitioner in order to see what theories assist in working with the wide variety of students in higher education.  If theory is used incorrectly, individuals can be stereotyped and boxed into situations that may not be the most appropriate technique to use in counseling or advising.  Theory can be used as a frame of reference and with personal theory, can help customize practices that are conducted with students.  Whenever possible, the student affairs professional should be an active scientist in working with colleagues to progress the field of education in hopes to update and create a better context for theory to be conducted.  A professional must wear many hats.  One of being a listener, reflector, scientist, teacher, and role model in order to use theory and experience to best assist students.

A third component to the updated philosophy is that of collaboration. As stated in the Student Learning Imperative (1996) student affairs must "complement the institution's mission". In higher education this collaboration can take place with faculty, staff, students, the community and others.  It is important to remember that the intent of higher education is to advance student learning.  Understanding and empathizing is a large part in the collaborative process. Much like the voice project, being courteous and trying to understand another culture is helpful in showing pro-activeness in achieving goals.  Faculty culture may be one of the most prevalent that student affairs officials will face.  Departments in colleges are set up very differently, some may be loose while others may have many pieces but each should have a goal to help the student progress.  One must be respectful of the time constraints, finances, and past experiences with student affairs in order to receive the best results.  Collaboration takes effort and the most importantly is for one to be patient, observant, ask questions, and timing.

One of the more relevant points learned from the voice project was to become an advocate for students.  When Millenials are coming in with a sense of feeling diverse it doesn't mean that they think about diversity on a daily basis. Students may not be aware of the hegemony that is happening daily and creating an awareness for students to be advocates allows them to think communally about situations. Student affairs should be promoting accessibility, when it comes to advocacy.  Centers, office hours, and programming should have the opportunity to be available to all students.  When relating to my voice, adult learners make up a large amount of the present day student population and student affairs is going to need to accommodate to their needs.  Another important component is empathy and most underrated, the ability to listen.  Being able to listen to a situation with intent and have an open mind can help oppressed groups reveal to professionals the real need of the students.  Asking questions and creating opportunity for critical thinking can help students with the opportunity to solve their own problems.  The voice project showed the depth in which one can empathize with a group or individual.  Though it can't go to this length for every student, professionals can come up with personal methods to assist themselves understand others.

The final cornerstone to this mantra is the ability to be pro-active in the field of higher education.  Apathy and stagnancy is a silent killer in many situations and this will only affect our constituents; students. Being pro-active shows the willingness to change, to progress, and to take chances within a career or programming setting.  But each move that is made must be made with intent and have a search for a desired outcome.  Being pro-active allows a person to explore all aspects of a situation but intent allows a person to make a commitment.

Each of these components are going to help build a foundation that I hope to expand throughout my time in student affairs but also provides goals that I will try to use within my assistantship.  Each of these cornerstones comes with a level of optimism, which I believe, help tie these together.  Student affairs is looking to help student learn, develop, and growth and I believe that staying positive will help keep priorities straight and the outlook to be searchers in the field in order to provide the best product for our students.

Recommendations

When reflecting on my voice, it could have easily been broken into the female Muslim and adult learner.  Each provided a unique challenge that ended up being a relevant to today's current issues.  For student affairs to work with a diverse body of students it is important to conduct voice-like projects in order to keep up with student needs.

For the adult learner, the two main factors that contributed to successful were those of timing and location.  Timing meant that places on campus were accessibility for the student and these centers had materials relevant to their needs.  Location was another component which helped again with the concept of access.  Through the researched programs, the ones that were successful in the location sense were the most aware of using what was around the institution and managed their resources well.

Another aspect of the adult learner is the complexity of them.  How potentially more complex are they to other students?  The adult learner may come in with additional stressors.  On top of regular issues an adult learner may have child care problems, marriage problems, and handful of other stresses that can create inconveniences for adult learners. Successful programs allowed adult learners to network with others and create support groups for these unique types of students.  Again timing and location played a major part in the success of these programs.

One of the most important items that I learned was that the life experience of adult learners may be beneficial or not at all.  Unlike traditional college-aged students, they come with the misconception that they have achieved identity because they are an adult.  These students are going through just as much development as others and it is important that student affairs professional recognize these developments and understand their unique needs at the same time.

When turning to the female Muslim part of my voice, the factors come down to creating an awareness of culture including understanding the religious devotion of many of these students.  As mentioned in one of my first posts, a large part of this planet is devoted to the Islamic culture. Unfortunately, due to modern events, the culture has been tainted with doubt, zealots, and ignorant views that hurt many Muslim student before they are understood as a whole person.

One of the most important things for being an advocate of Muslim students is to get correct information.  The Koran can be interpreted in many ways and just reading books can only take a person so far in their quest for the truth.  The first hand experience provided me with contacts and first-hand accounts of students living in today's world.  One should be aware that the "truth" is contextually, always changing, and it is up to the student affairs professional to be aware of this in order to relate this to a particular institution. Being aware of customs, foods, and religious rights are some of the more key things to be open to when experiencing a new culture.

Much like the adult learner, Muslims may have certain needs.  Bowling Green State University have made these accommodates by providing a prayer room on campus and with the diverse student population, a Muslim group has been a great source of community for student living both on and off campus.  Allowing students to form these groups are great but each must be able to contribute to the larger college campus and also learn to seek out advocates within the community.  Just like any student, it is important that these groups develop an identity (mission statements perhaps) and continue to grow whether it is in numbers or programming.

Looking back on this experience it has helped lead me into becoming a more insightful practitioner.  It allowed me to empathize on a level that was never done before and the theories gave me the tools to help assist this voice grow and develop.  More importantly, this project gave me experience in being pro-active in finding students to help understand the culture of a current college campus.

On Different Grounds

Whether it is in the workplace or in higher education being able to think about situations in their context enables professionals to make commitments to help other groups or individuals.  An example of this attention to people was displayed in a Tyson plant in Shelbyville, Tenn.

With a large majority of its workers being of Islamic faith, it was granted that Labor Day not be scheduled off but that last day of Ramadan which is October 1. Out of 1,200 workers, 700 of them are Islam.  But this was not religious based decision but was a "contractual agreement".  This means that the majority of people wanted for this to happen.  Tensions have risen though because of the division of religion as a personal matter.  This particular Tyson plant even has a prayer room for Muslims to pray.  One worker commented that "We don't have one for Christians". Another went as far as saying "..you're in America, I think that they should go with our holidays" (Associated Press, 2008).

How does this relate to my voice or higher education?  It goes back to the question on what it means to be an American in this country and I believe the lack of concern for diversity.  In higher education, the very nature of a liberal arts education is to broaden the knowledge base of the individual.  Dialogue is one of the most important components in creating visibility for issues from the Bad Butter Rebellion to the Jena 6 protests, each had students voice their opinions on campus. One of the programs that I have encountered is the inter-group relations program at the University of Michigan.  It is not a debate of who is wrong or right but rather an open forum where facilitators help guide dialogue into new and interesting areas.  The purpose is to promote understanding and I believe that without this visibility, students may not be as proactive until large situations arise.  With more dialogue would these non-Muslim workers be more happy?  The world may never know, but what they may have done if dialogue happened would be a chance to empathize and more importantly, have an awareness of other cultures and their customs.  The two keys terms of opportunity and awareness can create programs that have impacts on cultural groups so that the majority does not lose sight of the issues.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GoHooTg5Do

Resources:

Associated Press. (2008, August). Drops Labor Day for Muslim Holiday. Nashville News. Retrieved August 4, 2008, from http://www.wsmv.com/news/17063986/detail.html#-

(2008). Tyson replaces labor with Muslim Holiday [Video]. Retrieved August 1, 2008 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GoHooTg5D0

Shadowing My Voice: Part II

In order to complete my shadowing process, I made contact with a Muslim woman who was willing to let me "walk in her shoes". Julie appreciated the fact that I was taking time to learn about the culture and wanted me to get a true experience. Being an American Muslim meant that she was devoted to her religion but respected and appreciated most American culture.

She wanted to try an experiment.  I was to combine both Ramadan traditions and daily ritual into a one day experience. She said the most important part of her day were her prayers.  For me to get an authentic look into her life, she ask that I try to find a quiet place and reflect five times that day for a period of five minutes or more. In addition, I was to fast and not change my daily routine e.g. running, doing homework etc.  I was also to refrain from swearing or doing anything that would cancel out my fast. With a time schedule as my guide, I woke up before the first prayer session and ate a full meal and hydrated. At the first light around 6 a.m. I performed my first reflection session and ran my usual three miles.  I chose to switch running in the morning because I was hydrated compared to in the evening when I would have to wait until dusk to drink. After a shower, I went about my day exhausted but happy.  The plan was to continue my reflection sessions until Sunrise and we would meet to discuss any questions I had and eat.  I met her briefly in the prayer room on campus which is in Olscamp. The first half of the day went fine but as mid afternoon approached I found myself parched and unfocused on schoolwork. Once Mahjib came (sunrise + reflection session), I was released of my fasting duties.

When asked about the hardest part about Ramadan, she explained that it was a test.  It was to test the mind, body, and soul. Mentally, she found it the toughest to concentrate on schoolwork and found religion as a source of strength but also a guide for values and morals. She, like Noor, chose to wear a traditional head cloth in order to be unique from other women and have pride in her culture.  Much like a flashy pair of clothing, it is to make her different and to raise questions. For the most part, people are courteous of her clothing choice but occasionally gets a weird look from certain individuals. She says a large part of her comfort is that she has family in the area.  It is important to note that Toledo and Michigan have a large amount of Islamic faith based ethnic groups.  She chose Bowling Green State University because she had cousins who went through the college and like Noor was raised all her life as an American but was born here and not an immigrant.

When asked about discrimination, she said that she has heard of other Muslims who experienced disservice or name calling but understands that her religion teaches tolerance. She is positive about change and hopes that through the more people she meets that she can spread the "gift of diversity and culture".  She lives on campus and said that her support comes from her friends, both Muslim and non-Muslim, family, and the Muslim Student Association.  When asked about student affairs, she pointed out that the multi-cultural centers do an adequate job in providing accessibility.  Most of her contact has been with people of her same culture introducing her to a group and the facilities. 

Student affairs professionals should pay special attention to the religious needs of students and the customs they follow.  Being able to empathize with students is a way of trying to understand the life they live and how their work, school studies, and attitude can affect the job in student affairs on a daily basis.  What was learned from this experience is that devoted Muslims make accommodations to their daily lives and some are more taxing than others.  It is important that through theories, both psychosocial, cognitive, and typology, that I try to use the tools around me to combine those with my personal theories.  It is important that the educator be reflective and think of situations contextually.

Video Link

Muslims in America

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4--DUCwjZfw

Muslim Women in USA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZDgfvedQ5Q

Shadowing My Voice: Part I

When I wanted to shadow my voice, I had some apprehensions about the availability of finding someone who was both Muslim, female, and an adult learner.  With some frustrations, I finally found two individuals to help with my shadowing process.  "Ben" was a 37-year old adult learner who was taking general classes over the summer.  "Julie" was a 20 year Muslim full-time student taking summer classes.  Both were used to help develop background for my voice, the problems they face, and creating solutions that can be applied to higher education.

Ben was mid-way through his marketing major at the university.  He works full-time most weeks and has a wife and a son.  Though only receiving an associate degree, he is a partner at a local business and looking to expand his knowledge in order to transition into a new role of the business that financial, is a " better investment in the long run".  When asking him about his hardest struggle he stated, "It was more of an emotional struggle...I spent less time with my wife, and with my son home from school for the summer, it was hard to leave them".  Prying further, he said that his support group was his family and though he had friends in the program, he rarely used them for help except for in group project situations.

His advisor was his main contact with the university.  This was a faculty member assigned to help guide marketing majors through the program and though it was not usually for a professor to be the main source, but Ben relied on him heavily.  He said that the professor was more of a colleague than an advisor.  When asked about other support services on campus he mentioned that though he had heard of the career center but have never needed to use their services.  When asked if he ever will he said, "doubtful...it's not needed..since I know what my job is hopefully going to be".  He also maintained that his advisor was his greatest asset to his education.  "When you have such as strong mentor...you don't really need the other supports...he is my career center, counseling center, and financial advisor, all rolled into one", was a reply about the role his advisor played.

His other transition was the workload.  When he first started out, he struggled with keeping up with the reading and the amount of research that was needed for the major.  His professors were very supportive and upon revealing to them about his unique situation, they congratulated him for taking a risk and saw to it that they provide him with a mentor who was known for helping students with different situations.

Student affairs is a large part of the college experience and he said that it was largely unnoticeable in his day-to-day student life.  He said though he had classmates who were close he wished that each individual college offered a networking team to help students connect to the university better and to colleagues in the program.  

When reflecting upon his experience it was clear that his purpose was different than Noor.  He had a perspective on education where he was to get in and get out.  He admitted that if he did not have a strong mentor that he believes that he would seek out services but said that his mentor was "one of the best connections to the university".  His struggles were the same as Noor's with his devotion to his family and being apprehension about the workload of college.  How could I, as a future student affairs professional, made his experience better. When looking at this question it was clear that faculty are the first meaningful contact to the university. If a faculty member does not have the resources to help a student then they should work as a referral system. Documents from the foundations course support this notion of collaboration with faculty and student affairs professionals should want faculty members to be knowledgeable about their facilities.  A faculty member may only be present for a few hours a day plus office hours and it is important that student affairs professionals respect this time.  Like an adult learner, timing is a large issue with faculty. Providing information should be convenient, fast, and assessable.  Whether this is creating a one-stop manual or website with easy links, faculty who are exposed to student affairs can help pass information onto students.

When working with faculty, it is important to try to understand the culture.  Each department has a unique way of conducting business and where one technique may work with the art center , it may not work with the math office.  

Exposure and timing were the main issues with this particular adult learner and would be safe to assume many others. Providing literature and convenient orientations to either programs or facilitates would help in spreading the word about support services on campus.  With a heavy workload for the student, these facilities may be only used a handful of times and it is important that these offices are easily assessable to adult learners. The most important piece that can be taken from this shadowing experience is that in some ways adult learners have the same struggles but each provide a unique problem to assist the learner in achieving. A student affairs professional should be an advocate for these people because they like full-time students, can easily be lost in crowd at the university level.

The Importance of Questioning in Higher Education

One of the cornerstones of a practitioner's toolbox is questioning.  This skill though must be developed and more importantly have intent behind the wanted outcomes.  More importantly is reflective questioning, or prompting the student to think more in-depth about answers.

For Noor and an advisor using Baxter Magold & King's Guide to Reflective Conversation it would help in the development of answers for my voice to use in her career, schoolwork, and support group.  Since she is an adult learner, it would be wise to say that she has had a wide variety of experiences to drawn answers from. Unlike an incoming student, her life has not been devoted in the majority to school. She has had a family, raised a son, works, has a spiritual life, and many other aspects. In practical application, it is important for Noor to state her intended outcome. Since she may have trouble with picking a single experience, one may stress the prompting to pick those life changing events, the feelings that were felt, and the outcomes of those events.

The reflection on the past experiences is one of the most important components of the questioning strategies. A student is able to look and find past events that have caused change, support groups that have been there, and techniques that have worked.  One should be cautious to rely on these past experiences to work all the time, but it does not hurt to experiment and try out both old and new strategies on endeavors. The emergence of new perspectives is equally important because it reveals how much growth has taken place. It can also justify to a person the success they have had, who may not see the fruit of their labor.

All of the questioning techniques seem to be grounded in good practice but it is essential that a professional look at each situation contextually.  One should be aware of the student's history, if possible, and look to evoke a student to produce a wanted outcome through questioning in order to assist them in creating a goal through the questioning process.

In class handouts:

Baxter Magold & King's Guide to Reflective Conversation

Sharon Parks and A Voice Towards Faith

For Noor, Sharon Parks model of adult faith seems to show a better progression on what the feelings of faith my voice is having and being able to define a category if needed.  Like many theories, this seems contextual and it is important to understand as a young professional that needs need to be looked at with clear eyes and an open mind.

When identifying Noor's faith it is important to have an understanding of the background that she comes from.  Noor's parents immigrated from the Middle East and upon settling in America, continued to follow the teachings of Muhammad and the faith of Islam.  She grew up with religion as more of a routine than something that she goes to occasionally or on a weekly basis.  She is a devoted Muslim, praying everyday, and trying to achieve her goals by being faithful to the teachings of the Koran.  

But she cannot be categorized into a dualistic mode.  She has moved away from a dependence to the forming of a community.  She is comfortable with her faith and is looking to, not experiment, but try to understand others (faiths included) in order to become a better teacher and understand the inner workings of people.  Though she belongs to the conventional community, she is in a category of being open to others.  Though some of her community, especially in the mosque and support group, do not understand her, she insists that being an advocate for her religion can only further the breakdown in prejudices about Islam.

Class Readings:

Nash, R.J. (2001). Constructing a spirituality of teaching: A personal perspective. Religion and Education, 28 (1), 1-20.

Religion and Voice

From the current readings and redirection in my voice, the focus continues to be on Islam.  The things that interest me is in the teachings but also in the daily routines of a devote Muslim.  Through contacts that I met in my cultural trip to the festival, I come to find answers in some of the aspects of religion.

When structuring your time, how do you take into account the prayer ceremony that takes place numerous times a day?

The prayer ceremony, or salah, is performed five times a day.  The purpose of this is to praise God and ask to show Muslims, the right way in life.  "With my occupation, I work with several other Muslims".  Throughout the day, John and others go to extra board room and perform their prayers.  Awareness is a big key for Muslims in the workforce.  Bosses who are unfamiliar with the culture "seem to be accommodating to our needs".  I can see though in other places where Muslims would not be the norm that it may be faced with prejudices.  John's co-workers are aware of this and they always, as a group, try to go at the same time.  When he has his days off, he usually go to a mosque to perform at least one of his prayers.

How do you advocate Islam in daily life?

From what was explained in my voice, John believes that she and him share the same devotion to promote the awareness of Islam and break stereotypes.  In the present, it seems that Islam gets "misinterpreted by zealots and terrorists".  He says "I try to make people understand that the truth of any religion is only as good as those who follow the teachings".  Just like any religion, mistakes of content is misinterpreted and people do terrible things and try to justify it with religion.  The important thing for people to remember is that Islam advocates peace.  For John, the important thing for" me is when faced with a question, that I remain calm and try to use my answer to benefit and educate".

Looking back, how has Islam impacted your life, spiritually and otherwise?

For John, just like Allah, "I am one with Islam and always have been".  Being raised from the beginning, it has helped John establish a routine.  But it has always given John great gratitude to know that he is apart of a larger universe.   Islam has given him strength and comfort to know that he am being watched and cared for but at the same time pushed to be true to the teachings of Muhammad. 

From my contact it seems that God is the ultimate example of challenge and support.  For Noor and my contact, they have been brought upon this Earth to serve others through morals and good deeds.  From Nash's definitions of believers, Noor seems to fall into the orthodox category but at the same time cannot be encompassed fully into this category (2001, p. 13).  This means that she is confident in her religion and that through Islam and her devotion that she can work to achieve her goals and be a servant to the greater good.  Noor has been raised with Islam and it is part of her just like others were raised Catholic or Buddhist.  Noor, through education, though wants to become an advocate for religious tolerance and believes that the best way to achieve this is to try to understand other religions and cultures as well.  Though she may hold firm to her beliefs, she is willing to explore others beliefs and customs for the greater good.  Since Noor is a full time student she is making it a priority to find groups and classes that cater to this desire for tolerance.

Resources:

Nash, R.J. (2001). Constructing a spirituality of teaching: A personal perspective. Religion and Education, 28 (1), 1-20.

Parks, S. (2005). The journey toward mature adult faith: A model. In M.E. Wilson & L.E. Wolf-Wendel (Eds.), ASHE reader on college student development theory (pp. 139-152). Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing.