11-15-07

College Q and A

What’s a cognitive assessment?

I ask this question both as a joke and as an illustration.  When I was in college, a professor I had told the class that in the next class period we would have a cognitive assessment.  I remember looking around the room, and everyone else seemed to have the same question as me – “what’s that”?  None of us asked, knowing we’d find out next class period.  What happened next class period, you ask?  A QUIZ!  Looking back it seems obvious that we should have known, or at least asked what he meant.  It was a speech class, about communication!  Only later did we study that there is sometimes a difference between what the message sender means and what it means to the recipient.  But the lesson for YOU is to always clarify any ambiguities with your professors.  If a professor says you’re doing fine in their class, make sure you know what “fine” means – your definition of “fine” and hers may not be the same.  And if your professor tells you you’re having a cognitive assessment next class period, ask exactly what that means.

What’s your opinion about students having jobs in their first year of college?

I think first year college students have a lot on their plates.  Getting used to their new surroundings, learning to make their own decisions, trying to learn how and how much to study, and frankly, trying to find and refine their own identity – all of that takes a lot of time and mental energy.  Freshman year is all about choices.  Sleep in or go to class?  Eat the extra slice of pizza, or go work out?  Drink?  Smoke?  Or not?  Stay in and study, or go out?  So to the extent their lives can be simplified, and their outside commitments minimized, I think it’s a good idea.

Time management and making the right choices are two of the most difficult things new college students struggle with.  A job works against both of those. Between going to class and going to work to earn extra money, plus all the things I mentioned earlier, their time is pretty busy.  And don’t think for a minute they’re going to give up fun, so something’s gotta give.  Studying often gets squeezed out.  If your student has a test tomorrow that they need to study for AND have to work tonight because they failed to ask off, should they study or go to work?  Each choice is both the right and wrong answer, depending on how you look at it.  Don’t set up this kind of conflict unless you have to.  My experience also says that once they have a job (and the parents off their back about money, and the cash in their pockets), they’re not likely to quit and go without.  Let them get their feet under them before you insist they get a job at school.

            Many students won’t have a choice, and I’m not trying to suggest it’s a bad idea to work as a new freshman.  I just think if you have a choice, it’s best not to – especially the first semester.  After that, yes, I think college students should work, hopefully at something related to their major. 

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