I just finished teaching a class and it seems that the new students are coming together as a class—maybe even as a team? I’ve never thought in terms of a team.  What is a team?  I looked it up in dictionary.com and I like the second definition best “a number of persons associated in some joint action.” Or, maybe I like the first definition “a number of persons forming one of the sides in a game or contest?”

The discussion tonight wound up being about diversity and white privilege, and I liked the way the students asked questions of each other, gave examples and were so considerate of each other. That is the beauty and one of the true pleasures of having a class that is racially diverse—or at least racially diverse when it comes to Black students and White Students. Our MSW program still has more to do when it comes to promoting diversity and these conversations, but it is good to see the students initiating the discussions and leading the way.

Oh, about the theme for the week Assemble the team, I think the intent of the theme is to encourage Valdosta State University (VSU) faculty and personnel to assemble the team together for the students—the advising team, the success team etc. This is important for beginning college and VSU students, and for the MSW students as well.  This theme comes at Week 6 when it is not only important to connect students and encourage students, but for things to come together for student success.  The feel of Week 6 in the semester is different than the feel of Weeks 1 or 2 or Week 15. In Week 6 there is more work to be done, the students, faculty and VSU personnel are just getting into the thick of things, and the end of the semester may seem far away.

This week and for the rest of the semester I hope to continue to see that we are a team. I am not much into team sports, and I grew up seeing higher education as being more hierarchical than a team.  In my higher education experience, we covered some pretty controversial and substantive topics, but it was real clear that students were students and faculty were faculty (Ha, ha, ha).  We generally talked more of the team talk than walked the team walk. So here is to us being  a team.  A team for the student success.  With the team, sometimes I am a facilitator, sometimes a lecturer, sometimes an evaluator, sometimes a listener. I am embracing this new way of thinking. Go Team!