Part 1

Stages of Departure

Using the class Discussion Board, draw from your readings as well as your personal and professional experiences to address the following Discussion topic.

Tinto’s Theory argues a need to separate from family members, at least to some extent, in order to stay in college successfully. Not all cultures value separation, however.

Imagine that you are a first-year residence hall director in a public university, and you are working with first-year students. Your students come from varying cultural backgrounds. As a residence hall director, you will often need to counsel students in their first weeks of school, when they feel homesick, feel like they are not fitting in, are questioning their choice of school, or feel like they are being pulled in two different directions (toward home and toward the new environment). Do you anticipate there will be any differences working with students based on their cultural background? Why or why not? Be sure to use information from your readings to support your answer.

Part 2:

Using Typology

Advising students involves so many aspects of their life. In this next scenario a student comes to see you. She has taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Holland’s Self-Directed Search, and Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory. She feels that she has a firm grasp on her personality and learning styles based on these tests and feels that a major in sociology best suits her.

She has two issues about which she is looking for advice. Her parents, who are paying for her education, believe that she needs to be a business major in order to make any money after college. They have sacrificed a lot to put her through school and expect financial returns upon graduation. They also are hoping she will become an accountant in their family business. They are very upset with her as she discusses sociology and have even started talking about not paying for college.

She is also frustrated because her introduction to sociology class is not what she thought it would be. She anticipated that it would be a lot of hands-on learning, which fits her learning style best, but the instructor lectures in every class and the final grade will be based on a mid-term and final exam taken in class. She feels that Holland’s self-directed search helped her to see that sociology is definitely the major for her, but the class does not fit at all and now, with this difficulty with her parents, she is discontented. She has come to you seeking advice. What do you tell her? Be sure to explain and support your response. Share why you would give the advice you propose.