I recently started using my Netflix streaming account to watch The Wonder Years again. The Wonder Years, for those who didn't watch or who are (gulp) too young to really remember it, was an ABC television show that ran from 1988-1993. It was a show about life of a typical suburban family in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The central figure was Kevin Arnold, a 12-year old at the start of the show who grew up in front of our eyes. We watched Kevin deal with family dynamics, first love, understanding war, building friendships and managing the politics of middle & high school.
The show was narrated by the "future Kevin Arnold," a mature, well-spoken adult man who reflected on the actions and choices of his younger self. In one of the first episodes, Kevin was learning an important lesson about maturing and the future Kevin said he realized that "growing up is not linear, but rather a series of advances and retreats..." So is college student development. Arthur Chickering, one of the first guys we all learn about in graduate school when looking at student development theory, talks about this with his vectors. A student often progresses along a relatively linear path, but from time to time will face issues associated with an aspect of development that had already been experienced. For instance when a student has a seemingly firm grasp on developing mature interpersonal relationships and appears to move fully into establishing personal identity, but the development of that personal identity or the way the student chooses to project that identity might affect relationships and result in some regression. But regression doesn't mean a lost cause, it simply means a re-evaluation of self and examining choices and attitudes in order to learn and grow and move forward again.
Students stumble, and though we invest our lives in making sure that the stumble doesn't hurt too much, sometimes the stumble results in some serious bumps and bruises. I think the message The Wonder Years was trying to convey was that learning is a process and even when life sets itself up to work in your favor, there are ample opportunities for failure. But for every retreat - every step back - there will be an opportunity to learn from it and turn it into an opportunity to advance. Our role in student affairs is to make sure we support the steps back and nudge students to take the step forward.
The narrator (the future Kevin) had an opportunity to view his decisions with a critical eye. Wouldn't it be incredible to have that opportunity? To look back with clarity on the advances and retreats that shaped our development as college students and young adults? We have the ability in student affairs to be the "future Kevin Arnold" and encourage decisions and ways of thinking in students that will allow them to have a few more advances than retreats. Think about your advances and retreats - most of us are pretty fortunate in that for every set-back we have had a success. Learn from the set-backs and be grateful for the advances...
The show was narrated by the "future Kevin Arnold," a mature, well-spoken adult man who reflected on the actions and choices of his younger self. In one of the first episodes, Kevin was learning an important lesson about maturing and the future Kevin said he realized that "growing up is not linear, but rather a series of advances and retreats..." So is college student development. Arthur Chickering, one of the first guys we all learn about in graduate school when looking at student development theory, talks about this with his vectors. A student often progresses along a relatively linear path, but from time to time will face issues associated with an aspect of development that had already been experienced. For instance when a student has a seemingly firm grasp on developing mature interpersonal relationships and appears to move fully into establishing personal identity, but the development of that personal identity or the way the student chooses to project that identity might affect relationships and result in some regression. But regression doesn't mean a lost cause, it simply means a re-evaluation of self and examining choices and attitudes in order to learn and grow and move forward again.
Students stumble, and though we invest our lives in making sure that the stumble doesn't hurt too much, sometimes the stumble results in some serious bumps and bruises. I think the message The Wonder Years was trying to convey was that learning is a process and even when life sets itself up to work in your favor, there are ample opportunities for failure. But for every retreat - every step back - there will be an opportunity to learn from it and turn it into an opportunity to advance. Our role in student affairs is to make sure we support the steps back and nudge students to take the step forward.
The narrator (the future Kevin) had an opportunity to view his decisions with a critical eye. Wouldn't it be incredible to have that opportunity? To look back with clarity on the advances and retreats that shaped our development as college students and young adults? We have the ability in student affairs to be the "future Kevin Arnold" and encourage decisions and ways of thinking in students that will allow them to have a few more advances than retreats. Think about your advances and retreats - most of us are pretty fortunate in that for every set-back we have had a success. Learn from the set-backs and be grateful for the advances...
Thoughts? Comments? Find me on Twitter @pottscharlie
