I have a student this term who is literally unique

Well, that didn't last long. My resolution to err on the side of seeing the positive and avoiding despair went right out the window in my 500th post. Most New Year's resolutions don't last, I know, but this one barely had time to take a breath. 

But one stumble doesn't require me to abandon all hope of finding some good news to focus upon.

Here's a positive: the online media advising class that I created for Colorado State nearly two years ago is finally running this semester, albeit with only one student. The department decided to take a chance and run the class despite that low number, as an experiment and perhaps with the hopes that word-of-mouth might add numbers in the future.

A challenge is that the one student is not an adviser and does not plan on a career teaching. I'm not certain how she even came across the course, but I'm glad she did. And she is giving it a solid effort, to her credit.

I have written several responses to her first few assignments and blog posts that try to point out that much of what we will discuss and explore could be applicable to any leadership position and that she likely will learn a lot about being a more engaged media consumer. 

My hope is that professors and advisers from the CSU English department and social studies might see the benefits of pointing prospective teachers in those areas to invest in some preparation for being a media adviser. Few education majors fully intend to advise the school magazine or website or yearbook when they take on their first teaching job, of course. But being able to share even a small amount of expertise with a hiring official could easily make the difference in being hired for that first teaching job.

There is a looming teacher shortage in America and it is likely that most education majors, in whatever field, can find a gig somewhere. But if a young grad wants to find a way into a larger district that offers superior pay and benefits, the competition for any one English teaching position, for instance, could still be stiff. Why start in some isolated rural school or small district when a better opportunity might be available much sooner?

Having an edge couldn't hurt. I had no journalism teaching background when I was hired to take on newspaper and yearbook at City High School in August of 1980. I had taught for four years at Regina, my alma mater, three of those in English, with yearbook and newspaper as extra assignments. How could I miss? After all, I had been sports editor of "The Spectrum" my senior year and entertained readers with my cleverly titled "Extra Points" column.

Howard Vernon, principal at City, had a late English resignation and that opening included yearbook and newspaper. I could get out of my contract with Regina and quickly sign a new one with the public school located just a bit over a mile distant. In fact, due to my leading the Regina "meet and confer" bargaining team in salary negotiations (and ticking off all sorts of people), the board president not only agreed to release me from my contract when I asked but demanded that I show up at his office at 6 a.m to get the paperwork done. 

It was a bit of a whirlwind. 

But suddenly I was part of a retirement system beyond social security and received a decent pay raise. I now had classes in both yearbook and newspaper in addition to the three standard language arts classes needed to fill out my five-period assignment. I still could coach, but as an assistant... much less stress. 

You could argue that I invested four years in a smaller, poorly paid position to prepare myself for a much better opportunity... sort of being in the right place at the right time. But imagine having graduated with some journalism advising training in my back pocket, so to speak. 

That seems like an advantage. And no matter how much faith in a great future we have, it never hurts to have a little extra support.

So, welcome, Julia, and thanks for going on our little journey this semester. 

A rant for post #500

This is a classic milestone post: #500 for this particular blog. It seems significant but, really, I would not expect its message to be anything life-changing or even inspiring. It is human nature to want to give nice, round numbers special significance, but why would #498, for instance, hold less power than #500, not to mention #523?

It's the first week of the spring semester, with the word "spring" seeming more aspirational than descriptive this week. The arctic influx of cold air led to very low temperatures for the past week, though a front may be pushing that out and bringing the "warmth" of temps in the 40s -- which is "normal."

Normal may also be an aspirational word these days. Politics aren't normal, that's for sure. 

According to many sources, lots of Iowans have expressed a wish for a strongman to lead the country... a sort of dictator or at least strict authoritarian. This may be a reflection of the level of despair some of these white folks who feel left behind by culture and the economy are feeling, but I accept it as true... so far as it goes.

Even those desperate Iowans would quickly change their opinions about a dictator should the guy who captures the power decides to enact policies that don't fit their dreams. Trump is a great example of a guy who could not care less about farmers and failing small towns in the Midwest other than as part of gaining votes. Deep down, they likely know this.

In fact, their despair comes from the fact that nothing and no one is coming to save the day. Not Biden. Not Trump. Not Haley. Not their governor or ancient Charles Grassley. 

What they see on TV or in movies will continue to have little to do with their lives. They will continue to be excluded from national conversations beyond being quoted about their blind obedience to the Trump cult. Hey, at least THAT brings some attention, even if it gets them nothing tangible.

I read a provocative column this week that claimed many in the Trump cult are, in the end, looking for revenge. They want revenge for not being part of a booming economy. For not having the education needed to better their lot. For having a majority of the country look down on them -- and I must admit, it's hard for me not to look down on them -- as evidenced in recent elections and the lack of progress in their jobs and bank accounts and how, just for instance, the total number of abortions in the U.S. has gone up since the right-wing Supreme Court ended Roe.

When the dog finally catches the car... in this case when right wingers get federal protections for abortions ended and when they get affirmative action ended, and then nothing improves? That's frustrating.

Do those angry Iowans -- well, some 50K of them in the caucuses who supported Trump -- expect they will have an improved chance at getting their children into an Ivy League school? Duh. 

In fact, their recourse is to basically attack universities and scientists and expertise. "If I can't have it, why should anyone else?" 

There is a logic to the anger and frustration. Lots of Americans want something, well, different... and they are willing to take a chance on almost anyone or any policy that might change the current dynamic.

I remember a book from some decades ago titled "Been Down So Long, It Looks Like Up to Me." That's where a shockingly large number of people see themselves.

And that despair could return a criminal and mob boss to the White House later this year. 

The new semester officially begins Tuesday

I began this blog two years ago, initially posting every weekday and now shooting for every Friday. This is post #499 in the series. The motivation for the blog was to model regular writing for my college students, though I'm not sure any of them every actually followed the link. My readers may be down to one brother and my wife.

Still, I carry on.

This semester may see some changes in topic, mostly due to the fact that one brave soul at Colorado State has enrolled in my Media Advising course. I wrote it a couple years ago but it never had any takers... until now. The department decided to run it even without the normal minimum numbers, and I appreciate that. 

What better way to figure out what works and does not work than to run the course, get feedback, and make adjustments? 

One of the key continuing assignments for the course is a weekly blog post where students share ideas about teaching, ask questions, and pose challenges. I will respond directly to those posts but may feel the urge to share more on teaching topics in this space. Forgive me, rare and valued reader.

The audience I had in mind for the advising course was practicing teachers who wanted to become more comfortable and skilled in their "added" duties involving some sort of media advising. I did have a secondary audience of current university students in mind, with the goal of providing them with some support as they applied for teaching positions, particularly in English and other humanities. 

Considering the high turnover rate among media advisers, this course might give an applicant just enough background to tip the hiring decision in their favor. Every English major can teach freshmen English (or so most people believe) but few would feel confident taking on the student magazine or yearbook or broadcast program.

Even administrators who are skeptical about giving students open platforms for expression -- so much could go so wrong, they fear -- see the wisdom in having a trained, competent adult guiding our young journalists. 

Or so I hope.

A new year is an excuse to explore being 'aspirational'

I have been reading a lot of commentaries on how America and its economy are the envy of the rest of the world, all while Americans wallow in misery and depression about the future. The disconnect is not logical from a big picture view, but I can imagine individuals thinking, "Yeah, things are OK now, but the bad times are on the horizon." 

One reason humans have thrived as a species is our tendency to anticipate bad news. Relentless optimists often were eaten by the saber tooth tigers.

I also read a blog post today that made the argument that there is a significant difference between being empathic and being compassionate. The short version is that when we spend too much time experiencing the sad and depressing emotions of people, we ourselves can get depressed... and maybe just stop paying attention to the news, for instance.

Being compassionate is more about being there for someone and simply being open to sharing. It's funny how a definition can sharpen our thinking. I would guess many people think of empathy and compassion as synonyms. It helped me to see them as different (and maybe empathy is an emotional trap). After all, the world is (and always has been) awash in bad news, in tragedies, in barbaric acts and unscrupulous characters.

And then I was reminded of how a former principal of mine, Howard Vernon, came up with a slogan for City High in Iowa City back in the 1979-80 school year: "The School That Leads." I was hired on the next school year and inherited the slogan and had to take a crash course in what it meant and what its significance was.

The quick backstory is that City High went from being the only public high school in town to being a bit overshadowed by the then shiny and new West High... and that achievement and athletics and discipline took a dive in the 1970s. Vernon was a legendary Iowa prep football coach at Waterloo East HS and, it seemed clear to me, was hired on to lead City High out of the doldrums, or at least to instill some hard-nosed discipline among students and staff. 

Proclaiming that you are "the school that leads" when the school quite clearly did not lead was ballsy. In retrospect, it was really "aspirational." Sort of like a mantra to buck up our spirits. 

But here's the thing: within just a handful of years, City High really was the school that leads, and it maintained that cutting edge reputation for decades. It's not so much that West lost its appeal, but there was a palpable sense that the energy levels on both sides of the Iowa River were at least equal.

About five years ago, due to increasing population in northwest Iowa City and Coralville, Iowa City opened a third comprehensive high school -- Liberty, because it is in North Liberty, a nearby suburb -- and many of the students and staff for the new, state-of-the-art school would have attended West. So now Liberty seems to have much of the energy in the Iowa City metro area. It won't last forever, but what does?

The new year holds equal amounts of potential for good and bad, I would say, but as I sat eating lunch with my wife and our eldest grandchild, Grace, today, I thought the best approach for this young woman about to enter her second semester of college was to prefer the aspirational to the cynical. She is hungry to take on the future and ready for whatever may come. It's tough for grandparents to not get swept up in her enthusiasm.

For the sake of my grandchildren and my wife and kids... and my students in the coming semester, and my neighbors and the St. Luke's church community, I have decided to focus more on all the positives that 2024 may hold and minimize the time I spend on the culture wars and political nonsense.

Well, except for those 3 a.m. moments where I find myself lying awake and trying to remember the last time I slept through a night without needing to pee.