COMMUNICATION!

 

On my previous blog entry from about a month ago, I talked about giving a TEDx talk here in Richmond, Virginia.  At least for part of that talk, I discussed the importance to teachers of having open communications with their students.

--You need to guide them.

--You need to encourage them.

--You need to give them hints.

--You need to explain your actions.

--You need to excite them about the possibilities for what they can get from the course you are offering. 

--You need to help them understand the importance of the material.

--You need to let them know that you care.

People hear that advice, but they don’t necessarily know what it means in practice so here is an example.

I have a holiday tradition where I send my students a quick Christmas morning message.  It doesn’t take long and it is usually based on how I am feeling at the moment.  Here is the one that I sent out this morning.  It is quite short.  What exactly did I intend to accomplish with this message?  I probably could easily list out 5-7 things that I was trying to do in these few words to get the students better ready for the start of the spring semester.  How many can you spot?

By the way, Accounting 302 is my primary course.  It is Intermediate Accounting II, and it is normally viewed as one of the most complex courses in any accounting program.   However, I don’t think that’s terribly relevant to the importance of this type of communication. 

**

12/25/2024

To:  Accounting 302 Students 

From:  JH

Good morning and I hope you will have a happy holiday on this Christmas morning.

I wanted to give you a present. 

This morning, I have been reading a fabulous book, James, by Percival Everett.  I would strongly recommend it.  I have seen more than one “expert” call it the best book of the year and I can easily see why.  It might well be the best book of the past several recent years.

I was reading along this morning and one of the characters said, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not learning.”  I immediately recognized that those few words were a wonderful secret to success in Accounting 302 and I wanted to pass them along as my present to you.  

Too often students seek perfection in 302 and then get discouraged when I point out that they are wrong.  Once discouraged, they quit trying.   Trust me, you are never going to get much right at first in 302, it is just too darn complicated, so you need to be resilient.   If you work hard and then learn from your mistakes, you can become an A student. 

The key, though, in that this last sentence has not one but two requirements.  First, you have to work hard and, second, you have to learn from your mistakes.  It is as simple as that.  If you can do that and do it consistently, then there is nothing else I can tell you.  You hold the key to your success.   And, as far as I can see, there is no reason why you cannot do both of those requirements.

Have a happy holiday!!!