October 2001

An Oct. 8 commentary in the Chronicle of Higher Education ("When Is It OK to Invite a Student to Dinner?") discussed the different ways faculty members socialize with their students.

Do you socialize with your students outside of the classroom? Why or why not?

Your responses will be posted here in the order received (the most recent reply is first), and may be used in other FACCC publications.

Please e-mail responses to Communications Director Katherine Martinez, k7martinez@aol.com, by Oct. 31 (use the subject "Question of the Month").

Answers received: 

• Your answer could be here

• 10/27/2001 8:51:08 PM Pacific Standard Time, giovannidelrosario@msn.com (giovannidelrosario)—I am new to district where my students reside. The student population I now teach is totally different from where I came from and I truly want to know who my students are. It has been two years since I started this experiment and I am just starting to grasp who and what they are. It has been very rewarding and joyful for I am more armed to device teaching methods that is more meaningful and get their attention fast than staying with the same things I have done in the past.
  
  Want to teach, know your students. They are different today, yet they are the same people as you and I.
  
  Giovanni Delrosario
  Culinary Arts Dept.
  Los Angeles Trade-Technical College
  Los Angeles, CA

• 10/25/2001 6:36:14 PM Pacific Daylight Time,  TQNELSON@aol.com,—Yes. My classes are all team-based (students are organized into teams that share in the development of learning throughout the semester). Meeting as a team, outside of class, to dialogue on team tasks and develop team presentations to the class is part of each team's work (team meetings are done/expected to be done weekly).
  
  Frequently, teams will invite me to meet with them, dialogue with them, etc. These meeting often take place in coffee houses, etc. I average at least one such meeting attendance a week and find I learn as much (if not more) than the students.
  
  It is from such interactions that many of my students tell me they come to understand that learning is a life experience, not a classroom one; that it can be a "fun" experience with friends, instead of "a pain;" and a journey of "never-ending-improvement," not a time-limited assignment.
  
  Del Nelson
  Management Dept.
  American River College

• 10/25/2001 12:32:18 PM Pacific Daylight Time, KONYA_WILLIAM@smc.edu (KONYA_WILLIAM)—No, to avoid the perception of conflict of interest.

• 10/17/2001 10:18:12 AM Pacific Daylight Time, oclark@ccsf.org (Ophelia Clark)—I have socialized with some students after class. But I NEVER EVER drink alcoholic beverages with my students.

• 10/16/2001 3:14:57 PM Pacific Daylight Time, sstocking@sjdccd.cc.ca.us (Steve Stocking)—It would be acceptable after they were no longer a student of mine. Or if I took all of them to dinner after first determining that they could all go at a particular time and that they did not mind taking up a collection to pay for my dinner. (I would pay for theirs except that I have about 125 students this semester.)

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