Wii're In This Together

My eight-year old son has learned How to Get Ahead in Life Lesson 37: Acquire a knowledge advantage over your opponent and exploit it.  His grandparents' Wii game system is living at our house while they're on vacation, and I have found that Evan rarely challenges me to a game that he has not already played.  Typically I am having to learn the mechanics of the game in the heat of battle, kept off-balance by his superior knowledge and skill.  In that mode, I am lucky to just ward off his attacks (who knew Olympic table tennis could be so brutal?); my play is more frantic reaction than skilled gamesmanship.

Reaction mode can be stimulating in an I-can-handle-anything-you-throw-at-me kind of way, but control and mastery are nice, too.  Lately I think many of us feel we spend more of our energies reacting than we do initiating and planning.  In the recent IDEA department heads evaluation survey the lowest-scoring item for every department head in our college was the comparative rating of "reacting" versus "initiating," and I suspect this was true also in the other colleges. I also believe that is more a reflection on our environment and how most people feel themselves than an indictment of heads' passivity.

So what are the prospects for moving out of reaction mode?  Can we hope to do more than just keep up with the latest changes imposed on us by administrators (yeah, I know I'm one of them) and our many constituencies?  Here are some insights I have gained from having my hat handed to me by an eight-year old.

1. I have to learn what he knows.  That means practicing by myself after Evan goes to bed! (A later bed-time being one of the advantages of old age.)  We must try to understand what is driving the changes that keep us on our heels.  Not all changes are good and it is our responsibility to question, but even ill-advised change is driven by some perceived need.  If we understand the broader issues, we have the opportunity to proactively address those issues in ways that most reflect our own values and priorities.
2. I have to take risks.  I have yet to beat Evan at table tennis, and the only way to find out if I can win is to keep playing him.  We have to establish what is important to us and entertain the idea that our comfort level is not the best criterion by which to judge the best ways of accomplishing our goals.
3. I have to care.  Frankly, I do not care very much whether I win at these games (although I am the best in our house on the trampoline event!).  I will not stay up late to practice on the Wii, and I won't lose any sleep if my Wii skills remain mediocre.  But I care very much that the College of Arts and Letters gets ahead of the curve of change and that we lead rather than follow.

The departments in our college have responded very well to the many changes that have occurred over the past few years.  I believe there are many instances where our people have set the example for the rest of the university.  As we look to the future, there are several opportunities for us to help set the agenda as well as set the example, including:

• Providing educational experiences that make "public affairs" more than just a label.
• Enriching general education such that prospective students would recognize the distinct advantages of taking all four years of courses here rather than beginning at a community college.
• Establishing each of our programs as the places in the region for excellent students in those fields to pursue their education.
• Seeking and capitalizing on interdisciplinary collaborations to provide unique educational experiences and career opportunities.
• Using student learning outcomes as the most relevant indicator of our productivity, and valuing all of our work in teaching, scholarship and service as ultimately benefiting students and the community.

If Evan were only interested in honing his video game skills, he could play all day against computerized opponents.  Playing with a human being, he is learning about relationships, cooperation, and people pressing one another to reach their potential.  I know that is what I am learning in working with all of you.