Old school values?
Posted on: October 12, 2017
This semester I am doing something I did not think I would have to do. I am advising my adult learners on what to do when they show up for their performative evaluations.
Amongst other things, I am telling them to:
- Come prepared
- Arrive early
- Be properly attired
These sound so basic that you might think they need not be said. But “golden rules” do not get their shine without polish.
What is socially acceptable or expected does not always come naturally. These behaviours need to be taught and modelled.
The three rules that I mentioned are not just for creating a good impression, they also reveal the mindset and attitudes of my learners. If they practice them, they show me and others that they can see themselves from another person’s perspective. They respect the time and effort everyone makes to participate at an event.
Those three rules are not limited to their performative evaluations. They also transfer to other contexts, e.g., interviews, meetings, classes.
I do not have to defend these rules. But I am concerned that I have to be so explicit about them at this late stage of my learners’ development. My interactions with some of them tell me that their previous teachers and mentors might not have insisted and persisted with these values.
It is that or I am becoming an old fart. Is curmudgeon.com available?
2 Responses to "Old school values?"
2 | Dr Ashley Tan
October 14, 2017 at 12:13 pm
E Tan: at what age do you think we should expect that from our Ss? some Ts also have difficulty with at least one of the three points mentioned… via twitter.com
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Another dot in the blogosphere? 
October 14, 2017 at 12:13 pm
E Tan: liked this. via twitter.com
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