Today was the first day of the Spring semester and what a wonderful day it was...there is something so contagious and so inspiring about looking at my students as they begin their quest for knowledge and ...how wonderful it is to know that I have the luxurious opportunity to take part in this...

A little while ago on NPR, Stanley Fish was interviewed about his views on education...he was adamant that a professor's job has nothing to do with teaching students about life lessons. Having read many of Fish's theoretical works as an undergrad and as a graduate student, I was interested in what he had to say. Then, after hearing the interview, decided, that I hope to never be like him.

One of the things I remember most about my academic life are those few professors that made a difference-- those that taught me life lessons. Whether it was to think critically, to interrogate the world, to understand what I believe, or to love whatever it is I do with all my heart...I got it. And, I thank them for shaping the meandering pathways in my life.

Today , I read :
...the British writer, James Allen, who wrote a little book entitled As a Man Thinketh. Allen said the thoughts we cultivate in our minds will grow up and will show up in our attitudes, actions, and words. "A (person's) mind may be likened to a garden," he wrote, "which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind."

We forget, I think, quite often, that we need to nourish our mind, to intelligently cultivate it because if we don't the alternative may very well take control.