tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post5395593022715611514..comments2023-12-23T04:56:29.702-05:00Comments on Ferule & Fescue: The cohort problemFlaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832765671541392835noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-77034913180317962732016-07-29T18:54:17.601-04:002016-07-29T18:54:17.601-04:00Interesting thoughts - thank you. (And isn't i...Interesting thoughts - thank you. (And isn't it funny how often listening is more important than talking? Such a good reminder.)Megannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-82946531246177096552016-07-26T15:19:14.954-04:002016-07-26T15:19:14.954-04:00Megan--
I do think it's easier as you gain yo...Megan--<br /><br />I do think it's easier as you gain your own separation from grad school and move more clearly into a different career stage. In reality, a junior faculty member's cohort includes advanced grad students, but unless you're preexisting friends, the bridge between the two can feel huge, especially on the grad student side. In my first few years on the TT I had a hard time a) feeling senior to anyone, and b) not just sharing all MY stories and traumas with current grad students. <br /><br />I still relate intensely to the grad student experience and am affected by a lot of things I hear grad students say (and I certainly see them as colleagues, potential friends, and all the rest!), but I'm better able to step back and recognize that our relationship isn't fully one of peers, might involve a real or perceived power differential, and so I let them steer, if that makes sense: I let them do more of the talking and respect whatever vibes I feel coming off them.<br /><br />In general, listening is more essential than talking.Flaviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17832765671541392835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-74063229125621860522016-07-25T12:56:51.559-04:002016-07-25T12:56:51.559-04:00I've been thinking about this, too, as I enter...I've been thinking about this, too, as I entered this profession meaning to be the kind of generous and warm senior person with whom I had those kinds of brief interactions you describe ("kind and off-hand"). But now that I'm starting to get there, I'm finding that I'm not sure how to become that person. I feel a lot of survivor guilt, and I don't want to put that out there. And I'm not sure what I can offer that is actually helpful beyond the off-hand statement. Maybe this gets easier as you get farther away from grad school? <br /><br />Megannoreply@blogger.com