Honors Gets the Works

Vol. 2 No. 1

Welcome! Or…welcome back!

Over the summer, Honors Studies implemented some changes.  Here’s the rundown of what you need to know and why changes were made.

One of the most important things we tried to do was simplify the language and detach it from language that was constantly being confused with other areas of the college.  No longer will you hear about the Honors PROGRAM or Honors DEGREES, DIPLOMAS, CERTIFICATES, or CREDITS.  None of these things REALLY applied in the traditional way anyway, so it was time to make a change.  We also wanted to make it easier for students to achieve Honors status upon leaving FLCC.  So many of our programs have gotten tighter and more restrictive, and so many students are transferring to four-year schools (both SUNY and private) that it was time for us to make some changes to help you take Honors with you when you did that. 

So…what do you need to know?  In a nutshell....

• We are now officially called Honors Studies.
• If you earn 15 points of Honors Studies Experience and have a 3.25 GPA when you graduate or transfer from FLCC, you will be designated an Honors Studies Scholar on your transcript, with supporting documentation.
• There are four ways to earn Honors Studies points – three of them have not changed: Honors Studies Seminars (HON classes), Honors Studies in the Disciplines (courses with Honors in the title), and Honors Studies contracts (making a non-Honors course into Honors once you’ve taken at least one Honors course). The fourth way is by attending and reflecting on Honors Studies Events.
•  Honors Studies Events are events hosted or approved by Honors that encompass our learning outcomes and mission through the content of their offering. By attending these events, and then writing a journal and an Honors Reflective Essay about your experience, you will earn at least one point.
•  All Honors Studies Experiences will have the same basic prompt for their reflective essays – where you will be challenged to think about where you have been, where you are, and where you are going in the context of the class or event of which you were a part.

Our goals in Honors remain what they always have been – to celebrate who you are as a learner and to help you hone those qualities that will support you being a lifelong learner.  We’ve crafted a new mission statement to reflect this:

Self-reflective learning meets innovative teaching within and between the disciplines in Honors Studies at FLCC.  Our seminars and activities foster an atmosphere of interconnection, inquiry, and curiosity where students become lifelong learners.  Honors students develop the confidence to contribute to their local and global communities.

There’s lots to talk about this semester, but I don’t want to overwhelm you as you start the Fall 2017 semester, so we will keep this short.  Just remember… all you have to be is curious!  We look forward to working with you this semester and hope that you have a fantastic learning experience.

SAVE THE DATE:  October 18 – the Honors Studies Dinner!  Open to all students!

Mirror, Mirror....

Vol 1. No 16

One of the cornerstones of the Honors experiences is the reflection that happens along the way.  We talk about reflection all the time, but for those who are perhaps not familiar with the idea in connection with learning - what does reflection mean?    I mean, we know what a reflection is because we look in mirrors everyday and we comment on things like how beautiful it is when the sun reflects on the surface of a rippling lake.  But what does it really mean?

If we look back in time, we can learn that the word reflection comes from the Latin reflectere, which means "to bend backwards, turn away."  We can see this in our sun on the lake, for the light is bent back upwards from the water; however, that doesn't much help when we think about learning.  It becomes interesting to note that in the 1640's, reflection was understood to mean "remark made after turning back one's thought on some subject" (Read more at the Online Etymology Dictionary).  Now we are getting somewhere!

I've said in a number of Honors Studies talks that we seem to spend a lot of time in academia with disciplines firmly in place - you learn biology over here, and mathematics over there, and then you have English here, and sociology over there.  We are trying, at FLCC, to remove some of these barriers, by showing the interconnectedness of disciplines.  The college challenges students to make connections and Honors is part of that.

Reflection in Honors is about seeing connections in all sorts of ways.  It is the connection between different classes - from those in your program to the electives you chose.  It is the connection between yourself and your classmates and your instructor.  It's the connections between your college experiences and those in other arenas of your life.  It connections between your past, your present, and even your future.  It's thinking about how all of the facets of your life interact at any given moment.  It's turning back your glance to look at yourself and how you learn.  It's about appreciating the powers of your mind and what it can do.  It's about seeing where you fit into your world and where you want to fit.  It's about seeing what your limitations and obstacles are and how you can work on removing those.  In short, it's about better understanding yourself so that you can better understand the world around you.

If this seems like a daunting task, that is because it is.  Honors is not about throwing you into the deep end of the pool and hoping you learn to swim, however.  We want to help you start to make those connections and learn about who you are.  There are so many ways to do this and you'll find the approach to be a little bit different in every Honors class you take.  What you can always expect, however, is writing.  Sometimes at home, sometimes in class, sometimes in a combination activity that spans time spent in the classroom and some time spent elsewhere.  Sometimes you will be asked to go find another place to write and think.  Changing your environment can make a big difference in how you view the class and its content.

To show you what I mean, the following is an activity I use in my Perspectives on Tolkien class.  As you can see, it takes quotes from a shared reading and asks students to think about it - first in connection with the class content and then in relation to their journey as a learner in a larger context.  It makes the suggestion that how readers interact with a text is connected to events in the world around them and the frame of mind with which they approach the text.

What ways have YOU reflected on your learning and your place in the world?

***

First, read these four excerpts from Fuller’s essay:

·         “This is meaning…that the reader translates into appropriate analogies for his own life, if he is so minded:  as in the fact that courage and integrity, seen in any context, are enhancements and encouragements of those qualities wherever we have need of them” (19).

·         “[W]e are confronted basically by a raw struggle between good and evil.  This contest offers a challenge and demands decisions of several kinds.  The power of evil is formidable and ruthless.  The initial decision, in which many of the characters participate, is whether or not to attempt to resist it at all” (19).

·         “The intricacy of Tolkien’s web of cause and effect, of the interactions of motives and wills, natural and supernatural, is extraordinary and – notwithstanding the frame of fantasy – profoundly realistic” (24).

·         “It gives joy, excitement, a lift of spirits, and it contains the kind of wisdom and insight which, if applied to the world we inhabit, might help our sore-beset race to hang on through the present shadows of modern Mordor into yet another age” (30).

Now consider this:

Each of you came to this course with a love of Tolkien’s world, regardless of how you came to encounter it.  Though you have a shared love of the work, it is also true that you are each reading for something different and exploring with your own perspectives, interests, and experiences.  Whether this is your first reading or your hundredth, you are discovering new things and focusing on different aspects right along with celebrating old favorites.  In short, there is something new to be found for each of you.

Finally, write:

Choose a prompt that speaks to your place in the world right now and the frame of mind with which you are reading The Lord of the Rings.   Write a response in which you tie the quote you chose directly to a specific character or event in The Fellowship of the Ring or the first half of The Two Towers.  Then, push it one step further:  find where you fit in.  Why did you pick this quote?  What drew you to that character or scene in Fellowship / Towers?  How does this quote inform your reading of this first half of the trilogy?   How might this quote reflect you, your mindset, and the world in which you find yourself as you read the texts (this time)? 

Article:

Fuller, Edmund.  "The Lord of the Hobbits:  J.R.R. Tolkien."  Understanding the Lord of the Rings:  The Best of Tolkien Criticism.  Ed. Rose A, Zimbardo and Neil D. Isaacs.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin, 2004.  16-30.  Print.

Dinosaur Thoughts....

Vol. 1, No. 4

I hand wrote this last evening while having dinner in Syracuse following a pre-retreat gathering with six other Honors Directors from various SUNY schools...

So, I am sitting at Dinosaur BBQ with a brain very full after just two hours of meeting with a (hopefully) comparatively small group of Honors directors.  Rockland, Canton, Ulster, Delhi, Brockport, New Paltz and, later, Potsdam were all represented.  There were as many different models as there were folks in the room;  everything from 'we have 400 students' to 'we just graduated our first'.  We were both two-year schools and four-year schools (and even one that is both) and we talked about all manner of Honors.

Here are some things that I learned...

1) Four years schools expect community service as part of their Honors programs.  They do not, however, expect their community college transfers (and they DO accept transfer students!) to have done any.  They don't lower the overall requirement, but since it is only 40 hours, that doesn't seem onerous.  They really seemed to understand that acclimation to the college experience is important and often even more so for community college students who so often have much more on their plates. It was clear that while they felt that service was important, it was not and should not be more important than students doing well in their two-year college and becoming adept in the academic setting.  This aligned nicely with what I feel - which is that service is important, but it needs to find its place and trying to universally apply it to a community college setting might be difficult.  So much of our population consists of first generation students, returning students, students with full-time jobs, students with children, students with other immense challenges.  I'm not saying we can't do it or it shouldn't be part of community college at ALL, I'm just relieved that it is not an expectation.

2)  Our "program" is unique.  For one thing, it is not a program, though we are in the process of gathering data about it so we can assess it like a program.  Many of my colleagues (in fact, I think all of them) have an admissions process.  This intake involves things like high school GPA, SAT and ACT scores, applications, and interviews.  Students have to APPLY to be Honors, even at the other community colleges.  And that works for them.  But for us, you really only have to be curious and I think that works for US.  If there is even a spark of honors in you, we will find it.  Every time I go to events, I worry a bit that our Honors will be dismissed or not taken seriously because it is unique in this way.  But I'm new - and what I'm learning is that Honors people seem to embrace and supper Honors as a concept, not as a model.

3) There are as many ways to realize Honors as there are imaginations to dream them up.  I told my colleagues about a student at FLCC who discovered Honors simply because she was interested in the topic of the course.  As a result, she changed her major, declared herself an Honors Student, and began to take other Honors courses.  Prior to this, she often lacked confidence because of a learning disability and bad experiences in the past.  When I told my colleagues this story, they nodded.  They said things like 'that is cool' and expressed excitement on our behalf that our Honors model allows this sort of self-discovery to happen.  The song of the day was 'what works for your campus' and it was a refrain that I'm learning more and more as I attend events like this and talk to other Honors Directors both local to our state and across the country.

4)  Capstone is an end word.   Someday, I hope that we will have what I would have called a capstone class or project to round out the Honors experience at FLCC.  But today, I learned that some don't like that word because it implies that the top has been reached.  This is problematic when we think about how Honors is meant to encourage lifelong learning.  Why not call it a signature project?  Or a milestone course?  Whether a student is going from a two year to a four year, two year to the work force, four year to post graduate, or four year to work force, the attributes learned in Honors will go with them.  The story is not ending just because the student is leaving our institution, and it seems like even our language should reinforce that idea.  It's all about the stories.

We all have stories.  And despite the work that seems insurmountable and never-ending, it's the stories that keep the heart of Honors beating, for four hundred students or four.  I am proud to be facilitating those stories and helping to write them and I am energized by the work my colleagues are doing across SUNY, across our own campus, and, perhaps most of all, across our classrooms.

What's your Honors story?

-T

"I wonder what sort of tale we've fallen into?"

Sam to Frodo, The Two Towers, J.R.R. Tolkien

SUNY Gathering

Vol 1. No. 3

Hello!

I'm a little bit late with episode three of Honors Matters, but I am here!

I have an Honors event this week about which I'm quite excited and I wanted to share it with you and invite you to pass along any thoughts you might have.

On Friday, I will be travelling to Syracuse to join a group of SUNY Honors Directors and Deans to network and share ideas.  We will get together for a social dinner on Friday evening and will continue our conversations at an all day meeting on Saturday.  Agenda items so far include:

Best practices - I'm really looking forward to this part.  This where I will get to share some of what we've been doing at FLCC as well as hear what other campuses are doing.  I hope to bring home lots of ideas that we can implement.

Honors contracts - I'm curious about what other campuses do.  We don't have a lot of contracts here, but I imagine that this number might increase as more and more students hear about Honors as a whole.  This is especially important for students in tight programs or for students who arrived late to Honors and are hoping to complete a certificate or diploma in an abridged amount of time.

Enhance connections - this is an important one.  I get asked a lot of questions about what Honors can do for a student in terms of transfer and I think these are really important conversations to have.  I am curious as to what four-year institutions are looking for and how we can work together to make Honors part of a transfer student's experiences in a positive way.

Honors visibility - Honors Deans and Directors across SUNY are interested in great links to the chancellor's office - especially in light of the change in leadership at that level.  These are important conversations to have as a whole and may even result in some kind of liaison between Honors at the campus level and SUNY central.

Assessment rubrics - this might not sound very interesting for students, but it should!  We are working very hard behind the scenes to align Honors with the learning framework of the whole college and shaping our learning outcomes to match work being done at the college on a larger level.  With that, comes the need to assess and create evidence that shows we are doing all the things we want to do.  The timing of this agenda item is perfect for us - as several classes are piloting the new learning outcomes and other documents this very semester!

The fun of all of this is that it really shows that we are trying to practice some of the core tenants of Honors in our very own practice.  It's all about making connections, reflecting on what we are doing, and expanding learning outside the classroom.  I look forward to sharing what I learn with you in a future blog.

STAY CURIOUS!
-T

"Honors administrators and faculty consider students to be the leaders of the future in their disciplines of choice and strive to give them the tools to be responsible, ethical citizens”

AnnMarie Guzy in “Honors Composition:  Humanity Beyond the Humanities”

Flying the Honors Flag

Vol 1. No 2.

Hello again from the Director of Honors!

This week I'm going to talk about how you can have yourself flagged as an Honors Student and why you might want to do that.  You'll also find some important information about where to find me and when you are most likely to find me in my office if you have questions.

It is true that our classes are open to all students and that a single Honors course on your transcript can be enough to set you apart from another applicant to a job or a seat in a four-year classroom.  But what if you have the time and the room to dedicate yourself to going all the way, so to speak?  What if you have set your sights on a certificate or diploma and what to make it official?  Well, you can and it's very easy to do.

All you have to do is fill out a change of major form (which you can find here) with your name, ID and signature.  Then you get it to me and I sign it for you.  From there, it goes down to the OneStop where they will raise a little flag in your student record that tags you as an Honors student.  It's that easy!

What this does for you is put my name down as your secondary adviser to help you make decisions about how to best proceed along an Honors path.   I will never replace the adviser in your degree program because they have invaluable knowledge and expertise when it comes to your educational and career goals in your field.  I will simply be a resource for you to talk about all things Honors.  I can help you compare your required classes with the next semester's offerings and help pave the way for you to complete one or two contracts depending on which route you go.  In short, if it's possible for you to earn an Honors certificate or diploma as part of your degree, the two of us will figure it out and then make sure that we've made good choices with your main adviser as well.

If you are flagged as Honors or not, if you've taken an Honors class or haven't, and no matter where you are on your educational journey, you are always welcome to come find me to chat about Honors related issues.  You can find my office on the fourth floor just down the hall to the right of the drinking fountain.  I'm the last door on the left before you go around the corner into the business and art wing.  My office number is 4285.  This semester, Fall 2016, my office hours are as follows:

Monday / Wednesday:  10:00-10:45 and 1:00-2:00
Tuesday / Thursday:  9:00 - 9:30 and 11:00-12:00
Friday:  10:00-11:00

I'm often around at other times, as well, so you can always email me to set up an appointment at trista.merrill@flcc.edu or honorsstudies@flcc.edu

You may wonder why my office is not in the Honors House, since that seems to make the most sense given that is HONORS Studies and HONORS House.  They are actually two separate things, though the two of them often cross paths in both philosophy and practical matters such as where we schedule Honors classes.  I had the chance to move my office over there, but I decided that it would be much easier to reach out to a wider range of students, faculty, and other important folks at FLCC if I was in the main building.  So, like you who are taking Honors classes, I walk over there every day and so far - the walk has been lovely!  We shall see how we feel when the snow starts falling, eh?

Well, that's all I have for this week.  Next week is a big week - I'm hoping to bring you news of our upcoming Honors gathering.  Stay tuned!

-T

Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit - e.e.cummings

Honors Matters!

Vol 1. No. 1
6 September 2016


Hello and welcome to the first FLCC Honors Studies blog!

Finger Lakes Community College is now in its second week of classes for the Fall 2016 semester and there are so many exciting things happening in Honors.  We have eleven Honors in the Disciplines courses running, with a total of 160 students enrolled in these classes. There's another handful of students engaged in Honors contracts and we are already making plans for the spring.

We are working on a number of things this semester sort of 'behind the scenes' as well, to help ensure that the Honors experience is as fulfilling as possible for all students who partake of Honors classes. It will also help us to show those outside Honors just what kind of work we are doing and the impact that work is having.  In a future blog, I'll tell you more about this.

As Director, I'm also making sure I stay up to date on what Honors means both regionally and nationally.  This October, I'll be heading to the National Collegiate Honors Council conference in Seattle to meet with Honors Administrators, Directors, Deans, Faculty, and even students to see what other colleges do in terms of Honors.  I expect to learn a lot again this time; in fact, this blog is actually one idea that was born out of the same conference last year.  Dr. Linda Ross, psychology faculty and a member of the Honors Advisory Board will be going with me so we have two sets of eyes and ears to take in everything we can.  A couple of weeks before that conference, I will be attending a SUNY Honors Directors and Deans meeting at SUNY Oswego to find out what our brother and sister campuses are doing and to talk with them about what we can be doing on our own campus to make the most of Honors for those who transfer to a SUNY Four Year.  Keep an eye out for blogs about both of these events!

In the next few weeks, we will be planning a party for Honors students and faculty to get together, share stories and experiences, have a meal, and generally get to know each other and Honors even more than we already do.  And who knows, perhaps there will be some sneak peaks at our Spring 2017 offerings, as well!

That, in a nutshell, is what Honors has been up to of late.  There are some other things I will be telling you about as soon as we have some more information, but in the meantime, please remember that my door is open and my inbox has lots of room in it.  I welcome any ideas you have for Honors, blog topics, guest blogs or bloggers, requests for information, questions about Honors, and any sort of general comment about anything related to Honors.

I will leave you with some helpful links and contact information for important things related to Honors Studies.

FLCC Honors Studies Facebook:  Head over and give us a Like!
FLCC Honors House Facebook:  The House and Honors Studies are not the same thing!

Honors email:  trista.merrill@flcc.edu or honorsstudies@flcc.edu

Thank you for reading and remember........stay curious.

-T

"I have no special talents.  I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein