Envisioning CPE Review

Envisioning CPE Review

For EDAC 655 Continuing Professional Education

For

Dr. Bo Chang

Ball State University

                For the review of my CPE envisioning paper, I invited two colleagues to read the paper and offer their comments.  The first reader was Coleen Rector, Business Program Coordinator from the Anderson Campus of Harrison College.  Her review of the paper was from the perspective of an individual who teaches in an environment where the focus is on non-traditional college students.  Her comments are offered from this perspective.

                Her comments were very complimentary and encouraging.  Some of her comments offered included, “I like the way you couples resources form over a decade ago to more recent [resources] to answer your vision of what needs to be done, and measuring how we educators are doing so far.”  She also commented that she appreciated the story about the youth group experience which, “. . . exposed you to things from language, food, typical schedules, to roadblocks along the way that the dominant race has not experienced unless they have walked in their shoes.”   Her comments were also cautionary in some respects which included the comment that consideration needs to be granted to students who enter the classroom with baggage.  She offered the example of a student entering the classroom with the preconceived notion that a white instructor was ‘out to get her,’ she described the response by the educator who handled the situation by demonstrating that this was not the case.  She also noted that the temptation to overcompensate for these perceptions.

                My second reviewer was Charlotte Taylor, who is the program coordinator for Criminal Justice at Harrison College in Anderson.  She was also very complimentary about the paper, noting that the information included was ‘timely and very accurate.’  She offered her observation that, “there is a lot of discussion occurring right now about the current climate of education be-it primary, secondary or post-secondary in terms of providing a sound education to everyone regardless of their culture or socio-economic status.”  She continued, “While it is true that through public education everyone has the access to an education, but the quality of the education is not the same across the board.”

                I appreciated the feedback and comments from both of these colleagues as individuals whose educational efforts I appreciate and respect.  Both are excellent educators and have the respect of their students.  In reflecting on their comments, I appreciated the comment on the need to experience or ‘walk in another person’s shoes,’ although I question whether I could ever really do that.  As a white middle class teenager, I knew that I would be returning to the comfort of the life that I was so familiar with.  However, I had to appreciate that the experience for the family I stayed with would not change.

                I also appreciated the cautionary comments that it may be possible for a student to enter the classroom with a significant amount of baggage.  I experienced a similar situation with a student who came to class with a very specific amount of baggage and difficulty.  His approach to me was defensive from the start, and he began class by assuming that my actions were biased against him in particular.  His hypersensitivity to the issue indicated that there was a significant amount of baggage.  Even though I attempted to approach the class with an even handed and unbiased approach, I sought to meet with the student privately, along with my supervisor (the director of education).  During the conversation, I expressed my support for his efforts and ask for an open conversation about the issue.  I understood there was baggage, but I also understood that it was probably there because of past actions of educators who impacted his perspective of someone like me.  I also understood that it was up to me to break that stereotypical understanding based on previous experience.

                I also valued the input received from my second reviewer, who is offered her perspective and acknowledged some of the difficulties identified in the paper.  As an African American educator, I sought her opinion because of her area of study (criminal justice) and because of some of the conversations we have shared in the past.  I particularly appreciated her comments that equal access is not the same as equal quality of education.