Considering my own ignorance about higher education around the world, I believe that the value of a strong global perspective of higher education lies in the ability to connect with people from different backgrounds. In addition to developing relationships with other people, conversations about others’ experiences can open eyes to see the bigger picture; it is so easy to get wrapped up in what is happening in our own little corner of the world (or our own little corner of the United States!). The world does not begin and end in the Commonwealth of Virginia, so it is important to broaden students’ horizons and understandings of others’ experiences.
Likewise, I feel like international students bring perspective, fresh ideas, and a dedication to education that I really respect. I am always so excited to learn about their experiences in their home countries, and am continually impressed by the work ethic of many of my international students. Likewise, I hope that by having open conversations I can develop a deeper empathy for all of my students, and treat all of them with the respect that they deserve.
I know that during our last PFP class, I learned so much about the countries we spoke about, and even ended up looking up some popular media from a few of the countries discussed (I somehow found myself four episodes deep in a Korean drama on Netflix that has become my new obsession). By sharing our lived experience with people who would otherwise not know (I had no idea it was illegal to sell gum in Singapore!), I think it improves both educational and relation dimensions in class. I hope to continue to learn about my classmates’ backgrounds, and hope that I can be an educated, attentive peer.
I was so excited to write on this topic in particular, especially considering the importance of diversity I have seen from both sides of higher education. Now that I have been both a student and a teacher, I feel like I have a better understanding of why higher education needs to move forward with diversity initiatives and emphasize the importance of full inclusion for everyone. In both my personal life and my professional life, I have seen the ways that true inclusion is beneficial to everyone.
As a woman with an invisible illness who is in an interracial relationship, I was blind to a lot of my own problematic assumptions about others, and I really credit my significant other with opening my eyes to these with some respectful, eye-opening conversations over the past three years. I always got angry when somebody would ask him “where are you really from?”, and yet I would insert my own assumptions about his life in conversations from time to time without even realizing it. Likewise, as an undergraduate at Christopher Newport University, I was an orientation leader for the Presidents Leadership Program (PLP) and that program gave me experiences with true diversity as well. Over two summers I was in charge of facilitating an orientation for a group of about twenty students, introducing them to the university as well as the leadership minor curriculum. Part of my training included extensive analysis of micro aggressions and biases, and I was so shocked and hurt to find that I was contributing to an exclusive environment at times due to micro aggressions I didn’t even realize.
I feel like the conversations with my partner about little things I was saying, as well as the exercises in my training for orientation really contributed to my education about my own privileges, and helped me have deeper conversations with individuals in the PLP who had different experiences than my own. If universities want to be more diverse and inclusive, they need to first address their own biases and have open conversations about how to improve these behaviors. I hope that in my classroom, my students feel respected and like I want to develop a true understanding of their experiences at Virginia Tech.
For example, when I first showed this photo to a friend, one of the first things they asked is “I know he’s biracial, but what exactly is he?”. That was something I found extremely rude, but I could tell they hadn’t meant it that way. This led to an open conversation about micro aggressions with a close friend, and it went better than i had expected! When he showed the photo to a friend, they commented “well, she doesn’t look sick”. He then had to explain to them about my history with debilitating migraines, and how people don’t have to look sick to be in a lot of pain.
http://countingmyspoons.com/2016/08/5811/
Considering all of these things, I believe that difference does matter. To suggest that somebody does not see color, or background, or sex, or ability, or any combination of these identities is either naive or ignorant. Rather than pretend we do not see others for who they are, I think there should be an emphasis on celebrating our differences, as well as how we can use these differences to teach one another about empathy and collaboration. Within the academic world, I have seen far too often the push toward diversity for diversity sake- I think that is a bit of a misstep. If I got into a program just because the program wanted more women, they are missing out on the various experiences and thoughts and ideas that I have as a result of my intersectional identity. I think if a university is trying to be inclusive and globally diverse, the first way to know if they are succeeding is to ask the students- ALL of the students. Having to explain an invisible illness to a professor is a deeply uncomfortable experience for me, as I often worry they either won’t believe me or will dismiss it as not a big deal. Likewise, individuals with identities considered to be in the minority may have their own challenges communicating their identity in class. Differences matter because, no matter where I am, the person sitting next to me undoubtedly has a completely different life experience that is just as valuable and valid as my own. It is only by sharing our experiences that we can grow, learn, and become better citizens.
I have noticed that a lot of subjects that we cover in my Preparing Future Professoriate class are covered here as well, so I was excited about the opportunity to again talk about the National Communication Association’s Code of Professional Ethics for the field.
By analyzing the fields of teaching, research, publication, and professional relationships, I feel that the 1999 statement clearly outlines ethical concerns specific to communication. As I spend more time in the program, I find myself more concerned with networking and developing those professional relationships within the field that can help guide me in my own future research. I appreciate the emphasis on power relationships between faculty and students, as well as understanding the role of a teacher.
Communication deeply values – you guessed it- good communication! It is extremely important to have open lines of communication between those in power and individuals breaking into the field for the first time, as well as those between teachers and their students. I think that the communication field values research than furthers theory, which I see time and time again in my own classes. There is a deep focus on the latest research within a particular subset of the field, so I appreciate how they emphasized that “there are ethical principles that apply to a communication researcher, no matter what form of research is utilized”(p.2).
One thing that surprised me about the statement is that there was no mention of graduate teaching assistants, or teaching assistants in general. I would add in a statement about the proper preparation of GTA’s within the field, as I feel that it is an important ethical concern to make sure that TA’s are well prepared. Since their academic integrity can directly impact undergraduate students, I think this addition would be beneficial to the field.
As a public speaking GTA, I have students that create PowerPoint presentations to use as visual aids in their speeches. Often, they want to use photos, graphs, and charts that they find online. Therefore, I feel like the most common copyright issue I experience is properly explaining to students how they need to cite their sources properly in order to avoid plagiarism issues. Rather than simply grab a graphic from google images, they need to properly cite the image, its source material, and make sure it’s up to VT standards. The “Can I Use It?” test is something I had never seen before, and I am considering implementing it into my course next semester when I explain copyright!
Likewise, Creative Commons was a resource I had never used before, so I had a lot of fun exploring the site and the available works. The tutorial video was really helpful for someone like me who is a total newbie to the media site. The idea that individuals would spend so much time working on something and then give it to the public for free is really beautiful idea, and I appreciated the plethora of subjects and types of work available. I know where I will be going when I need an image in future presentations!
As far as open source work, it’s a topic that we have been discussing quite a lot in my Preparing Future Professoriate class. I think that open source is a really good concept, as it makes research available to everyone, rather than holding onto data in the hopes of publishing before others. I think there is such a competitive nature in academia, and I would hope that the normalization and celebration of open source research could make scholastic work more collaborative.
For my final project, I decided to focus on a presentation to help teach future GTA’s about teaching for the first time. I chose this project because, as a first-year GTA, my very first class was something that gave me a LOT of anxiety. I feel like the more information one has about a subject, the more confident I would feel in my skills and abilities. I want to clearly explain the resources on campus (such as Cook Counseling, the Writing Center, etc.) in the hopes of preparing GTA’s to be more knowledgable about the campus options.
I hope to learn more about teaching, higher education power structures, and the work-life balance of GTA’s within the communication department. I feel like there is a lot of pressure on GTA’s from all fields to represent their respective departments well, and that can lead to anxiety and stress. Likewise, it’s important that GTA’s feel well prepared and confident in front of their students in case they have to deal with any issues of academic misconduct. By knowing the resources and policies on campus, a GTA can be better equip to deal with problems, as well as referring students to the proper campus resources.
