You Are Who You Want to Be:
What Are You Doing Here?
Dr. Mario Rivas
Tom Brown
Adams State University
Student Convocation
August 22, 2014
[email protected]
www.tbrownassociates.com
1
You Are Becoming Who You Want to Be:
What Are You Doing Here?
Dr. Mario Rivas
Tom Brown
Adams State University
Student Convocation
August 22, 2014
[email protected]
www.tbrownassociates.com
2
“ Everybody is born unique…”
…But most of us die copies.”
Between Unique and Copy Is Our
Fear to Act Our Uniqueness
Copy
Unique
Fear
Fear is a major factor that inhibits community college
students from achieving academic and career goals.
Mario’s Journey
Fear
Hope
Confidence
Becoming Who You Are
“It is our birthright to
achieve completeness.
Fritz Perls
There are parts of our
learning self that we split
off from when we have
difficult experiences as
children.
SELF-TRUST AND INTEGRATION ARE PART OF HUMAN NATURE
How many times does a child fall
when learning to walk before
she gives up?
The child never gives up: there is an
inborn drive to stand, walk, be competent!
Becoming Who You Are
“Our future will be our past,
unless we bring our past into
our present, and choose our
future!”
0-100% Competence/Learning Model
100
Sedulous
0
0-100% Competence Learning Model
100
Sedulous
Adjective:
Painstakingly
persevering
0
0-100% Learning Model
100
Sedulous
Adjective:
Painstakingly
persevering
Maria was sedulous: she
never gave up despite
the frustration and pain
often associated with
becoming an
0 effective/successful
learner.
Development is going from 0-100
in understanding “Sedulous”
All learning is a matter of
gaining more and more
information until you
understand the knowledge
you are seeking.
Breaking Basic Writing Into
Do-able, Developmental Components
100
80
40
}
Paragraphs
Vocabulary
Sentence
Structure
Grammar
Reading prompts
Spelling
0
When student sees task in do-able steps which can be mastered with effort, there
is increased hope because the goal is do-able and achievable.
Task versus Ego-Involvement
Ego Involvement- negative emotions
occur and undermine achievement
because students are focused on
comparing themselves to others
rather than task of developing
competence.
Nicholls, 1984
Social Comparison
Compare and despair….
The Challenge is to…
SHIFT students from
Ego-Involvement
to Task-Involvement…
Ego Involvement
100
100 95 Ideal others
40 Shame, despair, anger
frustration, fear, etc.
0
Task Involvement
(Focus on Task)
0
Ego Involvement
(Focus on Comparison to Others)
“Compare and Despair”
Task Involvement
100
100
95 Ideal others
80
40
0
Task Involvement
(Focus on Task)
Shame, despair, anger
40 frustration, fear, etc.
0
Ego Involvement
(Focus on Comparison to Others)
“Compare and Despair”
Task versus Ego Involvement
100
100
95 Ideal others
80
40
0
Shame, despair, anger
40 frustration, fear, etc.
0
Task Involvement
Ego Involvement
Task-involvement creates hope and confidence (belief
in self) as progress is made toward competence goal!
Confidence comes from having the
skills needed to be competent and
successful on a task !
100
80
}
40
0
Confidence is
Power Equal to
Demands
Confidence comes from having the
skills needed to be competent and
successful on a task !
100
80
}
40
0
Get Better,
Not Bitter!
Me/Not Me:
Healing the Split in the Learning Self
100
We are “somebody.”
Our body carries our
history of learning
and development.
} Not Me “No Puedo”
Zone of Contact with
Developing Self
} Me “Si puedo”
0
Each time you learn, you develop more
neuronal connections– you expand your
ability to think more effectively!
…from assimilation to
accommodation. Piaget
I am somebody!
“Our body communicates who we are.” Amy Cuddy
"Great Stories Begin Here" is not simply a
slogan at Adams State University.
Student success is the result of our caring
campus culture.
What Are Your Doing Here?
You Paid the Price to Get Here!
 You are capable of college-level work
and achieving your goals.
 The ASU faculty and staff want you to
succeed.
 Success is a shared responsibility:
You have to do your part.
Success =
Commitment
+
Determination
+
HARD WORK
Time
Adapted from Jaime Escalante
Advice That Mattered
What did my students say they heard and
remembered over 24 years?
A Keynote Address
2003 Annual Conference
The First-Year Experience
Tom Brown
What they remembered
If you don’t know
where you are going,
you might end up somewhere else….
Lewis Carroll
The secret of success….
The secret of success….
Everyday make a list of the things you
have to do…
THEN DO THEM!!
I have good news
and not so good news!
 The good news: If you weren’t a 4.0
student in high school
it doesn’t matter anymore!
 The not so good news: If you were a 4.0
student in high school
it doesn’t matter anymore!
Whether you think you can, or think you
can’t… You are right!
.
Whether you think you can, or think you
can’t… You're right
.
It’s not APTITUDE
It’s your ATTITUDE
That determines the ALTITUDE
you will achieve.
Beyond grades to Learning….
How long do I need to study?
Until you know it!!
It’s OK to be afraid….
Without fear, there can be no courage,
and sometimes it will take courage to do
what you have to do.
$100 a class!!
ASU Tuition & Fees
$17,000
Foregone Earnings
($10 hour x 40 hours/week)
$21,000
Actual Cost of Attending ASU
$38,000
8 classes a year = $4750 course
40 hours per course
=
$118 a class
What they remembered
Seek to find your passion and
major in something you enjoy.
Your major will not determine the careers
that will, or will not open to you.
It’s OK not to be sure about your major…
Three questions for first-year students:
1. What’s your name?
2. Where are you from?
3. What’s your major?
Fall 2013 first-year U.S. students
A very good chance I’ll change my major
12.9%
Change my career choice
12.6%
75 percent of students change their
major at least once before graduation.
Not just a major
A Field of Study
A Field of Study
General education requirements
Major/program requirements
Electives
Service learning
Internships
Work experience
Co-curricular activities
The question want to answer through
advising...
NOT….
“What courses do I need to take?”
Ask big enough questions
What is it I plan to do with my one wild
and precious life?
The Summer Day, Mary Oliver
Good decisions take time and effort
Role of Criticism
 Students need to be willing to receive a
critique of their work without perceiving it as
an attack on their integrity, intelligence or
creativity…
 A good refutation of your work is not a
personal attack; it does not mean that you
are talentless or a bad person.
Understanding University Success
Association of American Universities, 2003
Get Better NOT Bitter….
Failure and Persistence
Those students who do well in my
class aren’t afraid to fail. They are
willing to take risks. If they read a
problem and they don’t instantly know
how to do it, they don’t quit or feel
embarrassed.
Understanding University Success
What they remembered
If you are going to dream, dream
big dreams.
Little dreams have no magic!
The American college campus is one of the
very few places on earth where people from
so many diverse backgrounds come
together for a common purpose.
The other is the American workplace.
Objectives First Year Students Consider
to be “Essential” or “Very Important”
Improve my understanding of other cultures
Socialize with people of other racial or ethnic
groups
56% of ASU Seniors believe their experiences
helped them to understand people of other
backgrounds
Why Does Diversity Matter?
As the U.S. and world become more
closely connected, it will be increasingly
important for you to interact effectively
with people from backgrounds and
experiences that are very different from
your own.
It won’t always be comfortable
If I am going to be part of the solution, I must
step back from my defensive position. . . .
Then I can understand what it has to do with
me and, most important, what I can do about it.
Alan Johnson, University of Michigan
Privilege, Power & Difference
Don’t just get out of your comfort zone….
Challenge yourself to stretch your comfort
zone to enhance your cultural competence.
Stretching your comfort zone
 Learn a language (or two!) other than your
own.
 Reach out to international students.
Unfortunately, too few international
students have opportunities to meet and
know US students and people.
 Take classes about cultures other than
your own to expand your knowledge and
increase your cultural competence.
Stretching your comfort zone
 Participate in service learning, volunteer work,
community service, and other programs that will
enable you to become more engaged with
diverse individuals and groups.
 Invite friends outside your identity group(s) to
come with you to events and activities. This will
not only allow them to make personal and social
connections, it may also enable them consider
their own feelings of “being in the minority.”
 Challenge racist, sexist, and homo-negative
comments and jokes that demean others.
Developing Integrity
Racism and other forms of
discrimination may persevere in part
because people who anticipate feeling
upset and who believe that they will take
action….
However, when faced with an act of
intolerance may actually respond with
indifference
Kawakami, Dunn, Karmali, & Davido, 2009
Don’t just talk the talk. Walk the walk!!
Become a bridge builder….
Create Unum
from the Pluribus
at ASU and beyond….
What they remembered
The tassel is worth the hassle!!