I’ve been re-reading the sixth Harry Potter book. When it came out over the summer, I was so
anxious to finish it that I think I missed some of the essential
foreshadowing. My daughter and I both
believe (or really want to) that (oh, and here I will be giving away the
ending, so if you haven’t read it, skip this paragraph) Dumbledore is not
dead. I thought there was some information
early in the book that meaningfully proved this, but I had to go back and
reread it to be sure. In doing this, I
have found that a lot of the book deals with a prophecy (from the previous
book) and how that particular prediction of the future is coming to be only
because one of the people involved is actively making it so; thus it is a self-fulfilling
prophecy.
As Dumbledore wisely points out to Harry, it doesn’t have to
be this way; you have more control over your future than you think. Without growing the really long white beard
or wearing a robe to work, I hope to impart this wisdom to students. Your midterm grades in the first year are
nothing more or less than what they are.
Last night we were extremely lucky to have Dr. Ann Webster
from the Mind/Body Medical Institute come and talk to our students. Sadly, only fourteen students came to learn
about what stress can do to their minds, bodies and souls. But those who came were greatly rewarded. She advised students (among other helpful things)
to eat well, sleep enough and most importantly think healthy and happy.
I think this is a time of year when stress and depression
are at a peak. After the first set of
grades are digested, the acids used for digestion seem to turn on the students
and start to eat at their self-esteem. Dr. Webster says this kind of negative thinking causes stress which in
turn causes all sorts of bodily reactions. Your heart rate and blood pressure go up, you are more likely to get
sick because your immune system is sidelined and most importantly, you
are not at your cognitive peak for learning.
There is also a loss of spirituality, not in a religious
sense, but rather in losing sight of your goals. Stress can make you lose your way and forget
the route that got you to law school and the route you planned to take once you
were done. In short, students may be
thinking: “since exams have clearly established that law school isn’t fun and I
have forgotten the reasons for being here, then what is the point?” This is where depression starts.
The words Dr. Webster didn’t exactly utter, but that I think
sum it all up are: don’t let your
thinking about failure become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If students engage in negative thinking about
their academic talents, then they are going to have less success academically because
of all the stress involved in that kind of thinking. If students lose sight of what has driven
them to come to law school, then this is all a very unpleasant experience for
naught. Students need to think positively
about their goals, talents and abilities. This will alleviate the stress and create a success cycle-a cycle where
students can learn and feel best about themselves-rather than a failure cycle.
Mind you, this isn’t an easy task. I still have times where my imagination
creates a far worse scenario than logical reasoning would suggest and I have to
be brought back from the edge because my cliff doesn’t really exist. It helps to have people who can rein you in
every now and then. A good support
system is always helpful (and a good Academic Support system: priceless).
So the bottom line is this, as Academic Support
professionals, we sometimes need to throw students a lifeline to pull them out
of the cycle of despair and prevent their negative prophecies about their academic
futures from coming true. Oh, Dr.
Webster also recommended some really good dark chocolate for snacking. Now that is a treat, and after all, if the Doctor
says so……(ezs)
