On Being (More) Human

...and rethinking happiness.

There's one line in my syllabus about which I get by far the most positive feedback from students.

Here it is. It's actually an asterisk* in the section on participation and attendance:

*I’m human. You’re human.  Life is challenging, and things come up. I recognize that things are really challenging right now and that you are regularly balancing so many demands on both your time and well-being. Make every effort to attend class.  If you cannot attend class, please provide advance notice (as much as possible) via email. I’ll work with you to get caught up and we will figure this all out together. Remember I’m here to support you and I want you to thrive (in this class and beyond).

In a world that's getting more optimized, more systematized, more digital, more distracted, more distant, there's even more opportunity for each of us to show up as a little bit more...human.

This policy is far from perfect. It leaves gaping holes where a student could take advantage of it. It’s way more complicated than having an automatic, algorithmic solution, such as “for every missed class you lose 10% of your participation grade.”

It invites complexity, nuance, and uncertainty. But it also invites humanity.

So I’m taking that chance

It's me being human, seeing the humanity in each of my students, and it is an invitation for all of us to just be a bit more human. 

Rethinking Happiness

Sharing some really interesting research from UC Berkeley’s Psychology department: "worrying too much about happiness can actually make you feel less happy."

My take:

We should focus less on happiness and more on fulfillment: a deeper sense of meaning and contentment to help us sustain through the normal ups and downs of life.

Go Beyond Yourself,

Alex