Honors Cares

Vol 4 No 11

Honors.

The word brings so many things to mind – not the least of which is a connection to intelligence.  ‘It’s for the smart kids’ is something I’ve heard more than once.  There is some truth to it…but it does not come close to encompassing what Honors really means.  I’m in the middle in visiting all the Honors classes being taught at FLCC this semester.  And soon, I will ask both of my own Honors classes to freewrite about what Honors means to them.  I have expectations, but I’m sure that I will once again be surprised, touched, and humbled by the responses.

We are Honors nestled inside a community college and I think that what we end up building, without an initial intention of doing so, a community within a community.  Students that are already bonded through their experiences at a small two-year college are even further bonded by the things that brought them to – and keep them in – Honors classes and events.

My thoughts below are not intended to be a comparison or a contrast to the rest of the FLCC community in the slightest.  It’s just what I’ve experienced and what I want to share with Honors students who are both new to us as well as those who are returning.

People in Honors care and they have established relationships of trust and openness about difficult topics.  This is not universal, of course, but I am continually reminded that it is a common trend among Honors students.

Students that I have only known for three weeks feel comfortable telling me things about their lives and situations so that I can be better prepared to help them succeed.  Another feels comfortable pointing out that they found the conversation of the day too heavy for them to process an end of class question.  Yet another felt safe enough to point out that they were in recovery and thanked our guest speaker for talking about important things that needed talking about. 

And then there was today.

A student messaged me in minor crisis…sharing their overwhelming fear and anxiety in the moment.  They had already spoken to another Honors instructor before reaching out to me.  As soon as I could, I went to where the student was.  We shared a hug and then talked together about a plan for them to succeed.  I made sure that professional help was being sought out and that the student was safe and okay.  Group hugs were had - for at that point we were joined by the other instructor and another student.  Then, exhausted already for some reason (let us hope I’m not getting sick), I decided to cancel my afternoon class and go home to rest.  It had been a long day for no apparent reason.  I went home and slept for two hours.

I woke up to find a message on my phone from yet another student who noted that class was canceled and asked if I was okay.

Honors cares.