Opportunities Galore

Vol 2 No 26

I cannot believe how close we are to the end of the semester!  I hope you will consider joining us at this semester’s Honors Studies Convocation!  We will have posters (still time to make one!) set up outside Stage 14 from 10:00 – 4:00 on Friday, May 4th (the same day as May Day!) and then, at 4:00, four Honors Studies students will share the work they’ve been doing this semester in one of their Honors courses.  Please join us!

And then on May 16^th, at 5:30 in Room 200 of the Honors House, we have the Honors Studies Awards Ceremony and Graduation.  Come support your fellow Honors students as they are recognized for their achievements!

These events of recognition and celebration are becoming so important to me - and, quite frankly, they give me energy as I, too, am wallowing in end-of-the-semester exhaustion.  There is something about gathering together and taking an hour or so here and there to celebrate the work being done.  To really step back and see what it is we are really doing.  It's so easy to forget that in the whirlwind of the work you are doing, your classmates and fellow students are also doing amazing work.  All of you need to be reminded that the sleepless nights, the stress and pressure, the anxiousness and obstacles are all worth it.  You are likely your own worst critic and not enough of us know what the rest of the Honors community is doing.  We have Facebook, we have Twitter (see below!), we have Honors events and we even have an Honors Club.  But let's also read the names of those who have excelled above and beyond and remind them that what they are doing matters beyond the confines of their classroom walls.  And take the time to showcase your OWN work in a poster.  Celebrate yourself.  Celebrate Honors.  Take a bow.  You've earned it and you deserve it.

In fun news, the bulletin board outside my office (Canandaigua Wing Rm 4285)  is now looking a bit more festive!  Come check it out.

Looking ahead, I am hoping to encourage more folks to look into Lori Vail’s class this fall.  We have an interesting relationship with food in today’s culture – from Instagramming pictures of our meals to trying out gastro pubs and exploring what we can do with kale.  It seems like that for every one who is desperately watching what they eat, there’s another ridiculous food choice that can be made somewhere else.  And those Girl Scout cookies!  Don’t even get me started!  J

Seriously, though, this class will explore so many ideas with food at their center that it is bound to change how you interact with this very basic human need.  I am reminded of a poem by William Carlos Williams called “This is Just to Say”:

This is Just To Say

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

It has always fascinated me as a poem – centered on food and yet laced with meaning that is heavily determined by the reader.  So much of the world around us depends on our perception of things and yet there is so much truth to be discovered as well.  I hope that you will consider joining Lori Vail this fall as she takes on the exploration of food – something else that seems so simple and yet is laced with meaning that is heavily determined by the ….eater.

Chaos Matters!

Vol 1 No 25

Our Guest Blogger this week is Sam Samanta, Professor of Science and Technology. He is offering an Honors Studies event on April 26th and sent along the following flyer to serve as this week's blog. Hope to see you there!

What is Chaos and Complexity Theory? 
Does it matter in our lives?

Honors House Workshop       Sam.Samanta@flcc.edu    @InvariantChaos    
Thursday April 26, 4:30 pm – 5:50 pm

Participants will be introduced to elements of Chaos, Fractals, Self-organization and Complexity Theory through use of interactive activities and software.  We will draw fractals by hand, see a demonstration of self-organization, chaos and complexity. Interests of the participants will determine how many of the following questions and elements will be addressed.
          How does chaos different from randomness?
          What is the “Butterfly Effect?”
          Does Chaos in physical world make long-term predictions impossible?
          How is science of parts different from the science of the whole?
          Does the principle of causality need to be modified?
          How do these new concepts related to our personal and communal life?
          What has been the role of technological advances; what are the implications for the future.

The event is an open invitation for developing creative insights through understanding of hidden patterns in the dynamic world around you. We will use visual mathematics to explore art, biology, business ecosystems, music, mountains, clouds, rivers and streams, solar-flares, weather, ecosystems, forest fires, stock-market crashes, flooding, earthquakes, cities, traffic-jams, internet, social-networks, galaxies, crimes, politics, wars, tornados, hurricanes, and dynamics of human relationships. You will come to see natural fractal shapes such as trees and network of blood vessels; and chaos in heart-beats as source of adaptability and sustainability. Through writing, discussion, and demonstration, this event will explore the relevance of Chaos theory to our lives its impact across scientific disciplines as well as non-science areas such as the social sciences, the arts and humanities.

Other Contacts for More Information:

trista.merrill@flcc.edu 

Curtis.NehringBliss@flcc.edu

David.McGuire@flcc.edu

Nani.NehringBliss@flcc.edu

Sarah.Blank@flcc.edu

Mary.Delmastro@flcc.edu

Seminars Matter

Vol 2 No 25

Lots of folks have begun to look at their classes for next semester and we are really excited about the Honors offerings. You heard a bit more about them at the Honors Studies dinner and can read the course descriptions on WebAdvisor, but that doesn't necessarily explain why you might want to take a seminar - or even what a seminar is or looks like.

So, why would you take a class that doesn't "do" anything other than fill a general elective? Part of that has to do with the other question. What IS a seminar?

Google's proprietary dictionary defines seminar as "a class at a college or university in which a topic is discussed by a teacher and a small group of students." Well, is that what a lot of classes at a college are? Perhaps just in between needed lectures, but still...that seems the heart of what college classes in general should be. The Online Etymology Dictionary has this to say:

"1887, "special group-study class for advanced students," from German Seminar "group of students working with a professor," from Latin seminarium "breeding ground, plant nursery" (see seminary). Sense of "meeting for discussion of a subject" first recorded 1944.

'Plant nursery' is a fascinating idea, but I'm not sure Honors Studies students are necessarily inclined to appreciate being compared to budding plants. But, it's getting a bit closer to the concept I'm aiming for when I think about what we mean by seminar. The first word there that stands out is 'special'. This is not to say that other classes for other students aren't special, but I firmly believe (and I admit I have a bias) that the special nature of Honors Studies seminars is more common than not. Far from being contradictory, this is really what I have observed and heard about the seminar experience. I often joke that if someone stuck their head into one of my Honors classes, they wouldn't necessarily be able to pick out the instructor compared to the students. That's more than just a joke - it's true. In the seminars more than in any other type of class, I'm sitting WITH students. There is now nothing in between them and I. We sit together as learners.

Now, I know that I can never fully erase my role as instructor with a suitcase full of grading and other responsibilities.  And I humbly lay claim to a little more expertise in general, given the number of years I've been in academia and studying whatever topic I've chosen, but to the extent that it is possible, I can learn from my students even as they learn from me.

Many of those who teach seminars do so because they want to research and dig more deeply into a topic about which they have an interest.  The thing about Honors Studies faculty (and many faculty in general) is that they have dedicated their lives to learning.  This is one of the ways they do so.  And this coming fall?  We have two amazing seminars coming that are the products of the passion, curiosity, and the enthusiasm of the instructors who are teaching them.

So, no...seminars might not fulfill a requirement in your degree (other than a general elective or a liberal arts elective), and perhaps there's nothing in them the connects to your program of study at all...but think larger than that.  There are few classes in any college anywhere where you will find a room full of people who truly chose to be there.  No one needs it, which means everyone wants it.  They don't necessarily come because they need the credit or the class or anything about it.  They come because they love the content of the course itself.  And that, my friends, is the best learning environment you will ever find.

This fall?

HON 200-90 : Games and Storytelling taught by Honors Studies Librarian, April Broughton.

HON 200-91 : Eat Me:  Food and Identity in American Culture, taught by Lori Vail of the Humanities department.

Come.  Learn.  Celebrate your own curiosity.  And, dare I say my little plants, grow.

Dinner Report - Spring 2018

Vol 2 No 24

Last night was the Spring 2018 Honors Studies Dinner where students, faculty, and staff gathered together to share stories of what Honors meant to them and what they were doing in and for Honors. As is tradition, I will post my opening remarks below...but before I do that, I wanted to share some highlights - sound bites, if you will - of things I heard that really stood out to me.

...I found my voice...
...I was an Honors student before I ever knew it had a name...
...We will cry together in Honors...
...Inclusive...
...I have few regrets in life, but one will always be that I didn't find Honors earlier...
...a sense of belonging...
...discussions and passion...

...a sense of discovery...

...I learn differently...

...sharing passion and curiosity...

So many good stories and experiences - reminding me again how special Honors really is. So much more was said, but these struck me as being themes that carried through what students said and so I wanted to share them here. And now the speech I gave...

***

Honors means home and family to many students and that is something about which I’m immensely proud. I knew that Honors was about building community, but I never really appreciated just how much that was happening until last semester when I handed the microphone around to various students to hear what they had to say about their experiences. It was eye-opening in the best of ways.

Lately, I’ve been noticing that Honors is also about opportunity and is often referred to as a best kept secret at FLCC, known to a select few who love it and talk about it and celebrate it. Their voices are not always heard outside the metaphorical walls of the Honors House (which extend far past that amazing building across the street). Honors is anywhere that you find fellowship and conversation that pushes your own ideas further and farther.

Opportunity comes in many forms and takes many shapes. We will hear a little bit about our fall course offerings this evening as well as our brand new Honors Club, which you will hear about shortly as well. It’s also worth mentioning the growing number of Honors Studies Events popping up – activities on campus that celebrate what it means to be an Honors thinker. The Human Library, which we will hear about shortly, asks us to potentially face our own prejudices. Another activity on Laker Day will help us learn what to look for to help prevent violence while a third will challenge us to rethink what it means to take a selfie. Other upcoming events in April include one that turns our gaze to history and what we can learn about current events through the lens of past presidents and another that explores the forces of chaos in our universe. One more on the calendar is coming up quick – one week from today is the 16th Annual Campus Authors reading that Curt will tell us about in a few minutes. In short, it seems that more and more faculty are realizing that the Honors experience is a valuable one and I hope that you agree with them. I hope that all of you will consider not only participating in these events, but also challenge yourself to take the few extra steps it takes to earn Honors points for them. Take your learning and reflection outside the classroom and out into the world you inhabit.

And that brings me to one of the most powerful and visible ways you can fly your Honors flag.

On May 4th of this year, we will be celebrating our second Honors Convocation. This event is designed to celebrate the work that Honors students are doing in any of their Honors courses. It is an opportunity to show case to a wider audience the things you have so passionately dedicated yourself to this semester. You pour so much into the work you do and your ideas are so grand that they, like you yourselves, are larger than the classroom in which they were birthed. Therefore, I challenge each of you to consider creating a poster that shows us what you’ve been working on this semester. Choose from a project, an assignment, a paper, a concept; in short, anything that shows what you have been doing as an Honors student this semester. We know it’s a busy time of year, but this is worth it for the excitement of celebrating your hard work and your vision. To encourage you to walk down this path, I invite you to join us at Study-a-Thon on April 26th. This event, with its vibrant and enthusiastic atmosphere (not to mention the free food) is a great time to come hang out, make a poster, and talk with other Honors students about what THEY are working on. You may even be asked to be one of our four presenters at the speaking portion of the event.

We created the Convocation because at the end of each semester, without fail, I found myself bursting with pride at the work my students were doing. Every semester, I desperately attempted to convey the various projects to other faculty and staff, to friends and family and, frankly, I always feel wholly inadequate to do so. I am so proud of all of you who have taken on the Honors challenge and I want the world to see what you are doing and I want them to love and appreciate you just as much as I do. Other Honors faculty feel the same way, and so the Convocation was born.

For those of you who are inclined to argue because you’ve heard the passion and enthusiasm with which I talk about Honors….well, you are still seeing it second hand. Why should I try to tell the stories when THE STUDENTS are the ones who are living them? Why should I fall short of show casing everything you are doing when you are the ones who are living and breathing that work (along with so much other work) in every moment you are awake?

I know that we are asking you to do something extra, but I also know that many of you are up to the task. I know that we are adding to the immense burden you are already carrying, but I cannot think of a more fitting way to share the secret of Honors with the FLCC Community. You are all gems and you should all be celebrated; you should all be, if you’ll excuse the pun, honored.

If you are brand new to Honors or came here tonight to learn about it, welcome. Next semester, I will think and feel these same things about you if you can join us in Honors. I will make the same pleas of you as we move forward and, in the meantime, come see it. See what your fellow students are working on and share their excitement. Let them ignite your imagination and your curiosity even more than they already have.

And speaking of honoring you, I want to encourage you to do two other things. First, join the Honors Club – regardless of whether or not you have taken any Honors courses (….yet). You’ll hear more about that from Jill Bond in a moment. Second, did you know that there are scholarships JUST for Honors students? Go, apply. You DO like money, yes?

You know, this may be the strangest speech I’ve ever written. It’s a speech of imploring. A speech of encouragement. A speech that is designed to move you to help us share the Honors story with the wider FLCC Community and to help Honors to thrive and grow OUTSIDE of the classroom. We are a group that is always changing as students come and go but one thing remains the same: Honors means home and family. Honors is worth our time and energy. And Honors is something that we need to promote and share. Our world is a tumultuous and chaotic one and I cannot think of a better collection of characteristics to celebrate than what we’ve built here: critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, lifelong learning, and a sense of belonging. Celebrate it with me.