For the first time in my career, in the past two weeks I had the opportunity to speak to college students in their classrooms. Interestingly this took place on opposite sides of the continent with students representing opposite sides of the brain, and yet I encountered a surprisingly uniform reception: silence!
Last week I had the pleasure of dialoguing with members of a public relations class at California State University - Northridge (CSUN), taught by my friend and colleague Jeff Duclos. Jeff is the principal of Von Jesson Duclos and is a candidate for mayor of Hermosa Beach.
This evening, I conducted a workshop session for electrical and computer engineering students at the State University of New York (SUNY) campus in New Paltz at the request of Dr. Baback Izadi who, starting this term, has become chair of the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department there.
The Cal State class will be dividing its 20+ students into teams that, in turn, will take on the Bob Hope - Hollywood USO as a client. Their mission is to help Gen. Mike Teilmann Ret. and executive director, to get the resources he needs to support the 60,000+ military and families who flow through the area every year. Meanwhile, the engineering group at SUNY in New York State are in various stages of undergraduate studies, leading to technical EEE and Computer Engineering degrees.
Common Threads - Silence
Interestingly, both groups shared a common attribute. As I presented in both groups, only one person in each raised questions; three others participated by asking or answering questions. The remainder were silent, some taking notes and others not.
The last time I was in a college classroom — nearly 35 years ago at Syracuse University — the smokers lit up when the lecture started. The discussion flowed and we had to be reigned in when the next group came along to claim the classroom. The same situation occurred at Providence College in the mid-1960’s.
What’s with today’s silence? Why isn’t the dialog more spicy? Why aren’t the questions more challenging?
My professor friends Jeff and Baback paused and then seriously explained that getting students to go beyond note-taking to asking questions, or to lead them to challenge or contribute does not occur. Both said that the sound of silence is a characteristic of today’s undergraduates.
Implications
Well, 18-21 year old college students are products of their families and their domestic cultures. Have we become a consumer citizenry? Has information become a commodity, something to be acquired at the lowest possible cost (OR at the least effort), and any embedded viewpoint accepted along with the hard and measurable facts?
In between the CSUN-SUNY-New Paltz experiences, I visited with my good friend, PR colleague and social commentator Dennis Signorovitch. Following a career with AlliedSignal and Honeywell Aerospace, Dennis now serves as a consultant with the prestigious Hawthorn Group and an adjunct professor at Mount St. Mary’s College, Los Angeles.
Independent of my observations, and reflecting his hands-on experience, Dennis observed that "silence" is typical of today’s students. Both Jeff Duclos and Baback Izadi agree and said they wrestle with this individually and at faculty sessions.
My interest is communications as a "success multiplier" — whether it’s communications internal to the organization or external with its customers and constituents. Communications can "move the needle" or help "resolve" an issue. What happens though when individuals in organizations retreat from communicating? What does it mean if they are conditioned to "absorb" information, data, perceptions, viewpoints without critical feedback?
I know these guys. Accepting silence is not something that Jeff, Baback, or Dennis accept. They will work to change the dynamics in their classrooms.
But is the University ready and willing to change the dynamic on a larger scale? If not, who is?
