Back to School!

Its August and the tempatures are soaring. While many are thinking about relief there are those thinking about the "fall semester." Yes, back to school is on the minds of many including the stores where notebooks and baggy jeans go hand in hand. For those returning to college as sophmores or starting as freshmen it is important to keep in the mind the true role of an institution of higher learning.

No, its not simply about getting a degree and finding that great job. Its not about joining a fraternity or sorority. Its not about dating the captain of the football team. Its not even about playing on a Division 1 or 2 athletic team. Its not about intellectual stimulation and honing critical skills. Its not about learning and accepting individual responsibility. Its not about studying abroad and internship experience. Its not about experiencing those extra 30 pounds as a freshman. Its not about missing class and cramming for exams. Its not about making the deans list and being inducted into the honor society. Its not about the best roomate in the world or the worse roomate in the world. Its not about formulating your own opinion albeit different to your parents. Its not about realizing that there is a word called "NO." Its not about any of those things but all of those things.

Many forget these things as sophmores trudge back to school and parents heave foot lockers into SUV's. But sometimes even administrators and faculty members forget these things. But most importanly all parties forget that the most fundamental lesson to be learned in college is accepting responsibility for every and all actions. And this is so because parents demand that their kid was taught that lesson at home and administrators acquiesce because of numbers and the balance due. So kids assume the role of customer and threaten to take their money elsewhere if deals aren't met and grades aren't changed. They complain to higher ups and leave out the part about the missed class, the missed assignment, the hang over on a Wednesday morning. And the administration, fearing that their retention rate will be affected and reputation compromised, initiate a working committee to address the situation.

So, what lesson is learned and who learns the lesson? The lesson is that you can force a university/college to spend time running committee meetings and formulating the tenth new policy on handling complaints. And the person learning the lesson is the front end person relegated to attending "servicing the customer with a smile" workshops while the kid rests against the tree listening to his ipod.
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