Student Guide Corner

I had actually planned to write an entirely different blog this afternoon.   Had it all sketched out and ready to go based on something I read recently in the Wall Street Journal .   But, I received emails from two former students over the last four days and heard a third say something particularly interesting during a recent panel discussion.  All three of them made me start thinking about what I truly wanted for my students.  So, I decided to defer my original essay for a week or two and let my mind wander in a different direction. College officials often say that one of the main purposes of a college education is to create well-rounded individuals who can lead meaningful and productive lives.  Gosh, who could possibly argue against that goal?   We are not training robots.   We are teaching flesh and blood people.   If we have any human feelings, we absolutely must want our students to live happy and fulfilled lives....

I finished my last class of the semester about 18 hours ago.   It was my 45th year in the classroom.   I believe that I taught most of my students a lot of accounting.   I would hope, though, that I helped them see more about life than just my subject matter.   Maybe I am wrong but I think 50 years ago college teachers were interested in more than the pure conveyance of subject matter.   As I look at the weirdness of the current presidential race, I wonder whether we have come to focus too exclusively on subject matter. So, I got up this Saturday morning and sent a final message to my students.   Not sure if it will make them any different but, maybe, in a few cases, they will think about their future lives a bit differently. To:   My Accounting Students From:   JH It's been a great semester (despite all the snow).   I have pushed you hard and you have responded wonderfully well.   No one threw a chair at me and I always consider th...

If you have read this blog for very long, you know that I often argue that college teachers have become obsessed with teaching stuff and less interested in developing the student as a whole person. Should we care if a student becomes a brilliant scholar but then leads a miserable life because he or she simply doesn�t know how to live? Well, I think so. I could give several examples of what I do in my classes beyond teaching stuff but here is one of my favorites. My primary course is Intermediate Accounting II which covers some of the most complex material at any university. For nearly 20 years, about half way through the semester, I give my students a required assignment. I ask them to consider all the books they have ever read in their entire lives and pick the �best book you�ve ever read.� Then, they have to write a paragraph or two to describe why they picked that book. Over the years, I have had some of the most fascinating essays submitted. Obviously, I want the students to think ...