Ok, so. Maybe my title is a bit misleading…..but let me explain.
As we quickly come upon the close of the semester, I am more vastly aware of how important my role is as an educator. Providing much supervision this semester to several master’s counseling students I have learned that so much acquisition of knowledge comes from doing and seeing others in action. It brings words studied on pages to life and provides deeper understanding of application. This leads me into thinking that a great deal of emphasis needs to be on what I model to my students in addition to what I am teaching them. After all, how can I expect greatness from them if I am not willing to give them my greatest efforts in return?
Parker Palmer comments in A New Professional: The Aims of Education Revisited that “as mentors we must embody what it looks like”, which is how I feel it should be in higher education. Not a sage on the stage telling the students to “do as I say” but not themselves be doing those very things. Rather, share their experiences, vulnerabilities, and remain committed to the heart you have for your profession. Which reminds me of a quote I once read, claimed to have been spoken by Rosa Parks:
Each person must live their life as a model for others.
Rosa Parks simply sat on a bus. She did not lead a movement, but her brave actions to remain in her seat did inspire courage and bravery in the many, many others who did act. Today, her name is well known and still provides modeling for those of us who wish to stand (or sit in her case!) for something for which we are passionate. Her small, but impactful action caused a ripple effect that has been massive.
As educators, we should strive to do the same. Make passionate, deep, impactful actions which cause ripple effects in our students. Our students will then know what it looks like to see the lessons in action, who will then in turn have impact on others. And so on and so forth.
How do I plan to do this? I am not fully sure. My idea is that I will strive to make my profession strong, ethical, amazing, and helpful. For me, that means continuing my own education, yes even after the PhD is complete. It means advocating for others who need assistance having their voices heard. It means reading or writing articles; meeting with clients; creating pedagogy that will stimulate the next generation. So I guess I will largely take it day by day, class by class, and student by student. We will learn and grow from each other.
So I am a model. Not the runway type, glossy magazine cover, television advertisement kind of model. I am a role model. I am not perfect, but hey, that just normalizes things and lets my students know that it is perfectly find to be human!
drkareblog 
We are all role models whether we want to be or not. The question is if we are good role models for our students and what they take away with them. This ties into mentoring which many of the post have discussed this week.
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“day by day, class by class, student by student”…what a wonderful thought and doesn’t that neatly also fit into the culture of our profession as counselors…I’d like to add “client by client” to your list as well. You bring up some wonderful points Karen and I agree with Ken’s thought too “we are all role models”. I wonder if that is the basis of why people are so careful and stoic about what they say and what they do because they realize they are role models….they don’t want to say anything that contradicts what they do and vice versa….yet I don’t think they recognize that we cannot all be the same (imagine iRobot in real life! Yikes!)…we are all different and similar at the same time. Human beings are the epitome of dichotomies but we can use that to teach future generations what it is like to hold two truths together, as true as they can be, in a single vessel and live with it…isn’t that also just human?! And wouldn’t that be some awesome role modelling.
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There is almost a moral connotation to what you are proposing here, which is something that I think about often. In the sciences, and in the professional realm, morality is often stripped from workplace functioning, but in academia, it is almost imperative for successful instructor/professor-student relations. I feel like to be the model you propose here, we must embrace that guttural calling to rise above the job description and aseptic classroom.
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I’m with you here. We have the capacity to impact our colleagues and students for the better in this profession.
We need to find that calling so that we can really live into it.
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Even as a GTA, I feel like this is one of the most important parts of my job. I grade and hold office hours and proctor tests, but I also try to be a role model and mentor for my students. It’s hard on days when I’m not feeling very patient and the answer to most of the questions I get is, “It’s in the syllabus.” But no matter how tired grumpy I’m feeling, the students should still feel like I care about them and that their learning actually matters to me. Because someday they’ll be the engineers or teachers, and hopefully they’ll treat other people that way too.
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What a great post! I really like how you focused on being a role model for others, and I really appreciate your comment that “it is perfectly fine to be human.” I think this idea can often get lost (I know that I often forget this!). In my current program, I have really appreciated having role models who have work-life balance, who are successful, who don’t work all the time, who understand that grad students shouldn’t be working all the time either, etc. Thanks for your post!
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Hi
It is a good idea to find a good model. But I want to suggest a little edition for this sentence: “Each person must live their life as a model for others”.
Each person must find a perfect model and try to live as that model. Because we may not be a perfect model and if all people try to be a model for others who wants to be learnt from their models.
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Thanks for this post! This is a lovely reminder that we are all role models and should act accordingly. If we expect the best from our students then we have to show them our best by being honest, willing to learn and admit when we are wrong. Thanks for the reminder.
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I can’t beat these comments so I’m just going to say, yes, yes, yes and thanks, thanks, thanks. You are my kind of model Dr. Karen!
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Great post. Great model and never doubt for a second that you are a much better model than those gracing the covers of magazines!!!
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