Giving Thanks...

Vol. 1, No. 11

There is a practice, in the world of bloggers and writers, to try and say everything you want to say in 300 words.  That is not always easy for me, but in this busy week of snowstorms and holidays, I thought it might be good to keep this blog short.  So, the following is an Honors version of being thankful, in exactly 300 words.

Every day the news seems to show a stricken nation, divided along lines that are too dug too deeply.  We face battles that we don’t know how to fight and we debate things that feel like we should not be debated.  So many of us are frightened, frustrated, and fatigued.  Even those who are winning are feeling the sting of this divisiveness.  The silver lining, however, is that we are afforded an amazing power to ask hard questions, engage in rigorous debate, and fight those battles.  We have voices that we can and are using.  We have individual and collective strength that very may well change the landscape of everything around us.  We can be greater and more powerful than the systems we are standing up against.  One of the ways we can do this in our local community is through the FLCC Values:  vitality, inquiry, perseverance, and interconnectedness.  These values are so much larger than simply what drives us as students and faculty and staff at the college.  They are the kinds of things that make humans better humans to themselves, each other, and the world around them.  Grown from these values are the learning outcomes for Honors that we are piloting this semester.  We want students to reflect on and evaluate their internal learning processes, analyze connections among learning experiences, and be able to articulate the value of intellectual pursuit in a scholarly tradition.  In short, Honors students should find within themselves the power to ask questions, be curious, learn and change and see the world as interconnected where they belong and have a place.  These qualities can carry us through the times that come and will give voice to the silenced, give power to the powerless, and embolden those who need courage.  For this, I am thankful.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them." – John F. Kennedy