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FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
by Dave
Tough
Greetings,
and welcome to this year’s first edition of the eZine
for the 2007-2008 school year!
I have had a pretty "interesting"
summer (http://www.davetough.blogspot.com)
to say the least. Thank you to my MEIEA colleagues for your
emails and prayers. The good news is I seem to be getting
back into the swing of things!
While recouperating this summer, I had some time to reflect
on education and life. As I encounter students in my Fall
classes, most of their primary concerns are about filling
their transcripts with “A”’s, graduating
on time and securing industry related jobs.
While these are not insignificant goals, it still seems something
is missing. The romantic notion of introspection about life
or the sake of increasing one’s understanding is now
relegated to the Philosophy degree as our music business programs
try to admit and educate more students and get them out the
door.
Yet for me, this summer hasn’t been about the technical
skill sets I gained in college or really what I “know”
about the music business or audio engineering at all. It has
been about my general philosophy of life. What do I want to
get out of each day? What is my support network? Am I working
towards my true ambitions? Where do I gather my strength in
times of trial?
Obviously, most of this seems to be the domain of parents
and upbringing. But I believe we can also encourage students
to explore these thoughts by developing their own personal
life philosophy. This takes assignments that require critical
thinking and reflection. It also takes instructors and advisors
who are willing to encourage this kind of thinking.
One of my students in a freshman class suggested I start putting
quotes in the middle of powerpoints for a brief class breather
to discuss “life” in general. I thought this might
be an interesting idea to explore. I often forget how much
I was grasping to find my true identity and God-given purpose
by taking MBTI tests, Strong Inventories (and the like) during
my early years of college.
Our philosophy of life keeps changing with time as our life
experiences change us. However, developing a positive, proactive
method of problem solving and a positive attitude about life
and work can help any human being navigate the mountains and
roadblocks that life throws at them.
Thank you for all your contributions to MEIEA and to educating
our students!
Return to Vol. 5
No. 1 Contents
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