tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597761046378693913.post5745769439629745895..comments2023-11-07T22:43:36.262-08:00Comments on Notes from the Ironbound: Do I Have a Moral Obligation to Stop Writing Grad School Recommendations?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597761046378693913.post-79291971721207997212013-04-18T04:01:45.713-07:002013-04-18T04:01:45.713-07:00Here's what I've learned from my post-grad...Here's what I've learned from my post-graduate school foray into Social Work:<br /><br />Self-determination is the alpha and the omega of the therapeutic relationship. If an individual wants something and she cannot be dissuaded from doing it, that is on them. <br /><br />In the middle is the power of Motivational Interviewing. The conversations you have with your students, if you really want to change their minds, needs to focus on their ambivalence. If there is one small part of them that thinks going to graduate school is maybe not such a hot idea, help them articulate why that is. However, if 100% wants to go, there is no ambivalence and we return to self-determination. <br /><br />If you cannot persuade them to stay how, then at least advise them on how to maximize the experience through networking. They should leave the terminal program with more than a head full of ideas and a piece of paper. They should also have FB, Twitter, and whatever newfangled social networking system full of people who can help them make the most of their career choices.<br />Debbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05978384022581560019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597761046378693913.post-23834957597657654022013-04-16T19:16:51.125-07:002013-04-16T19:16:51.125-07:00,As someone who is going to grad school I struggle...,As someone who is going to grad school I struggle with the thought of what else I could do. All of my professors recommended the grad school path to me and from my work on campus I found I loved working with students so it is hard to hear that I have entered into a fool's game.<br /><br />One of my economics professors told me that the problem with the university is that it is a feudal system trying to fit into a capitalist market system. How accurate do you think that assessment is?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03103037039528550744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597761046378693913.post-35405195955771615392013-04-15T06:08:25.831-07:002013-04-15T06:08:25.831-07:00BMI: there's the rub. I am a better person fo...BMI: there's the rub. I am a better person for the knowledge I gained and the people, like you, that I am lucky to have met in grad school. Those were some of the most fun and fulfilling years of my life. What followed was a nightmare, unfortunately.Werner Herzog's Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01918845193415571702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597761046378693913.post-42120027348923750892013-04-14T22:03:16.099-07:002013-04-14T22:03:16.099-07:00Although I don't encourage my students to get ...Although I don't encourage my students to get an academic graduate degree, I have a hard time telling smart, driven, and inquisitive students not to go to grad school. But I do tell them only to go if they are well-funded and to be prepared to find non-academic work when they are done. I still don't know if that's enough, but it salves my conscience. Even though my own post-PhD odyssey has been painful, graduate school did make me a much smarter and more interesting person and I don't want to keep my students from getting that experience if they want it.bminoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597761046378693913.post-67091418648811271692013-04-14T18:44:59.589-07:002013-04-14T18:44:59.589-07:00You can say THAT again--I learned that the hard wa...You can say THAT again--I learned that the hard way. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01323312457175719882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597761046378693913.post-65928993227246852712013-04-14T18:19:32.609-07:002013-04-14T18:19:32.609-07:00@Rebecca: Thanks! Many seem to view academia as a...@Rebecca: Thanks! Many seem to view academia as a Great Chain of Being, with full professors at Harvard at the top and adjuncts at community colleges at the bottom, with everyone in-between arranged according to their talents in their proper place. Challenging that view is akin to the reaction Galileo got from the Church.Werner Herzog's Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01918845193415571702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597761046378693913.post-1579128623506459452013-04-14T17:39:32.398-07:002013-04-14T17:39:32.398-07:00:D. Or, rather, :( :( :(. At any rate, terrific po...:D. Or, rather, :( :( :(. At any rate, terrific post (and not just because you refrained from launching into any ad hominem attacks on how much I suck and therefore prove that we are indeed a meritocracy). I liked you from my blog, so expect FIVES of new readers.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01323312457175719882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597761046378693913.post-38557837509669070172013-04-14T17:24:48.153-07:002013-04-14T17:24:48.153-07:00My husband and I are 200,000 dollars in debt becau...My husband and I are 200,000 dollars in debt because of a terminal masters program at a prestigious university. I'm telling students I won't write unless for funded programs.Sarah Juliet Laurohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06939397957058740401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597761046378693913.post-61318669265211737382013-04-14T07:01:04.081-07:002013-04-14T07:01:04.081-07:00I feel your pain, I really do. And you're not ...I feel your pain, I really do. And you're not wrong about the statistical probability of personal ruin, but it's their person to ruin, I'm afraid.Surlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05685839069609420679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597761046378693913.post-14561016671057933632013-04-14T05:04:26.889-07:002013-04-14T05:04:26.889-07:00Well, that's what I've been telling myself...Well, that's what I've been telling myself. I guess it's what I will keep doing, although part of me thinks that the perils of academe have become so severe that my rec is simply greasing the tracks to their personal ruin.Werner Herzog's Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01918845193415571702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597761046378693913.post-61044766416236838922013-04-13T15:24:51.990-07:002013-04-13T15:24:51.990-07:00I get your dilemma, I do, but you don't have t...I get your dilemma, I do, but you don't have the right to make that decision for your students, anymore than anyone did for you. They have to be allowed to find their own path, and you've done all you can to advise them. Beyond that, it's their call.Surlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05685839069609420679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597761046378693913.post-16542668342403689772013-04-13T15:23:08.054-07:002013-04-13T15:23:08.054-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Professor Binningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06008658510601354916noreply@blogger.com