Emerging Themes

If you are using the Journal in your classes as general business discussions, you probably notice that certain recurring themes emerge. This semester is obviously the hurricane semester. Have you noticed how many articles deal with hurricane-related issues - business and otherwise? I remember the fall 2001 semester when most of our discussions related to the ripple effects of 9/11.

But even in semesters where no dramatic occurrence takes place, I find that my classes tend to build their own themes. For example, one semester, one class talked about the AOL/Time-Warner problems as they developed throughout the semester, while another class that same semester focused on articles related to fuel prices and the potential ripple effects from commodity pricing. It seems that once they have discussed a particular issue, students will feel more comfortable and gravitate to related articles.

I am always sweetly amused when a student begins a discussion with "I chose this article because it relates to something we have discussed before about…" They are 'getting it!' The exercise is helping them to see the connections between articles over time. The Journal is not only a 'living,' daily casebook, but also an evolving casebook. This is an exciting pedagogical development!

A semester is enough time for students to see some progression of an issue or event. While I would always love to have more time with them, I have planted a seed that will bloom for many of them. Sometimes I have the immense pleasure of having students for more than one course. In those cases, I get to see even greater transformations in those students. And many times, former students will come to my office to tell me that they have continued to read about ideas or topics we have discussed.

My students are very special to me, but they are not any more sophisticated than yours. As I have stated in earlier postings, my students are fairly typical, and many times we have rough spots in the beginning of the semester. These semester themes are rewarding proof that most students are hungry to see the relevance of course work to the real world. Encourage these recurring themes. Your students will be just as excited as mine.

I welcome your questions and comments at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com.