Fall 2018 Convocation - Guest Blogger

Vol 3 No 13

This edition of Honors Matters is brought to us by a guest – not just a guest blogger, but also a guest at the Fall 2018 Honors Studies Convocation.  It is tradition to have the ‘report’ of the event come from someone other than myself.  This way, you get to hear the voice of another who is invested in, and intrigued by, Honors.  I would like to thank those who attended and also those who presented.  You will read more about those presentations below.  I would also like to thank those who made posters for this semester’s Convocation:  Brianna Smith and Bucket Abdallah (Perspectives on Tolkien), Rebeccas Rayne (Math for Liberal Arts Majors), and Persy Woodruff (Games and Storytelling).  Now, without further ado, let us read about the presentations!

Greetings blogosphere,

I am Johnathan Murray, the Director of the One Stop Center here at Finger Lakes Community College.  Like you, I am curious about Honors Studies, and it was this curiosity that prompted me to attend the College’s third Honors Studies Convocation.  The convocation took place on Wednesday, December 5^th, and involved five Honors Scholars sharing their experiences with us.  It was an impressive, and moving event.  Each scholar shared an assignment from their course, and with their own unique style and voice, provided us with a window into the honors experience at FLCC.

Lisa Scott was up first, discussing HON 200 – Food and Identity in American Culture.  Lisa shared her experience growing up on a farm, and how it shaped her love of animals, and embrace of vegetarianism.  She showcased a genuine interest and passion for natural foods.

Mela Folan was next, discussing ENG 101 – Composition 1 Honors.  Mela provided an overview of the assignments she worked on in the course, and shared her initial apprehension about taking the course.  She, with the encouragement of her professor, discussed the detailed essay she wrote about smoothies.

Next, was the sister duo of Persy and Luc Woodruff.  Trista introduced the pair as de-facto twins, and noted their proclivity for collaboration.  The sisters shared their experience in HON 200 – Games and Storytelling.  The sisters took turns sharing the Vignettes they created in the course, about their names.  They each told a moving story.

Last, but not least, was Mara Cornwall.  Mara presented on ENG 230 – Perspectives on Tolkien, a course that is on my personal bucket list.  In Mara’s course they watched the classic animated Hobbit film from the 70s.  Visions of a green frog-esque Gollum jumped around in my head, as Mara related a quote from the film to her own experience as an honors scholar.

The Honors Studies Convocation was a wonderful event.  It highlighted the wonderful work of our honors students. 

I hope to see you at the next convocation.  Remember, ‘all you have to be is curious’!

-Johnathan

"I Was a Different Person Then"

Vol. 1 No. 17

I'm teaching an Honors Seminar in Alice and Wonderland this semester and it always amazes me how much the journey of that little girl echoes the experience of Honors, at least metaphorically.  I was also recently reminded about how the word Honors is received sometimes.

Last week I was in a meeting with a member of administration who is also a faculty member and she said something that I think rings true for a lot of people.  In short, she said that the word Honors scares her.  That’s one of the things that I’ve been trying to battle since I took on the mantle of Director.  In the high schools, Honors gets attached to things like the National Honors Society and even at the college level we talk about graduating ‘with Honors.’  All of that leads, of course, to confusion.  Carrying on the defining of things that I started last week, I thought I would do the same thing with the word 'Honors'.  According to the National Collegiate Honors Council, which is a national organization that is centered on Honors, it’s really not about the “smart kids”:

Honors education is characterized by in-class and extracurricular activities that are measurably broader, deeper, or more complex than comparable learning experiences typically found at institutions of higher education. Honors experiences include a distinctive learner-directed environment and philosophy, provide opportunities that are appropriately tailored to fit the institution's culture and mission, and frequently occur within a close community of students and faculty.

As you can see, it’s all about HOW classes are taught and the impact of that methodology rather than the relative intelligence of the individual students.  It’s about making connections (there’s that word again) with the content and with the people who are with you on your learning journey.

Now, it goes without saying that more academically minded students tend to gravitate towards Honors, but it’s also appealing to students because of what is taught and how it is taught.  I’ve encountered so many Honors students who realized that it was something that they had within themselves rather than something they had to bring with them.  Sometimes, it's not about who the student is, but who the student CAN be.

Take the student who fell into ENG 101 Honors with me last semester and came up at the end of the first class to ask if I thought he should stay.  He had only signed up because the time fit his schedule and he didn’t realize it was Honors.  I told him absolutely – the support and camaraderie he would experience would help him succeed.  He ended semester by writing a note in his attendance folder that said, “Thank you – I went from summer school to a 34-page portfolio.”  That made me feel pretty special as an instructor, but it really says more about how powerful the Honors experience can be – and that has as much (or more!) to do with the students and what is built together as it does with what the instructor alone brings.

Or consider the student who signed up for ENG 230 because she wanted to read The Lord of the Rings and is now pursuing Honors recognition.  I recently asked her if she would have believed it had someone told her two years ago that she would be a student of Honors Studies in college and she replied with “No way.  I probably would’ve cried thinking they were mocking me.”

Some seek out Honors.  Some find it by mistake.  Some visit, but then head away again not to return.  Some are changed forever by the experiences they have in their Honors courses.  College really is about finding where you fit and then making the most of the time you have there.  Honors is no different in that regard.  I hope each of you find what you are looking for and for those who find it in Honors, we are glad to have you here.

“Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.” – Alice from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland

“This above all: to thine own self be true” – Polonius, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet