There is always choice...

I got an email at onhavingpower.com from Chris.

Just thought I would tell you how much I am enjoying your blog. I've had quite a lot of time to burn and your blog has kept me sane through this strike. Now I have a question that has been bugging me. Assuming that the strike does end in the very near future and we head back to class what are the professors going to do to regain "control" of the classroom. I have talked to a few fellow students (who are not in your power class) and they seem to believe what management says. If this happens I predict a lot of tension in the classroom and concerning assignments. Many students have a hard time tying their shoes in the morning let alone realize that management has been playing both the students and professors. Hopefully you can share your insight to this :)


Well I think it is fair to anticipate animosity in the classroom.

When we get back – which I hope is next week – the first thing we will have to address is how we will cover all the necessary material to complete the requirements of courses and programs.

We will have lost of three weeks and will likely be adding one or two weeks onto the end of the semester.

Some will complain because they will have no place to live. Leases will have run out or plans will have been made earlier. For most this will not be an issue because most leases will run to the end of April and we will be finished before that.

Some will complain that will have lost a week of learning. In all necessary cases we will get the material covered. Classes will be more intense and in some cases they may schedule an extra class.

As a result some will complain that the work load is harder than they can manage and they are being treated unfairly. Some will complain that their grades are not as high as they should be. Some will complain that they will have to miss work at their part-time job so they can keep up with the work load. Some will complain that the extended duration of the semester hurts their ability to make money this summer.

Some complaints have an air of legitimacy and will be taken into account when the courses are revised, the grades are calculated and the diplomas are awarded. Other complaints are just people looking to complain.

Some will complain that they didn’t know when the strike would end so they did not do any home work. Now they are behind even more.

Right….

Some will complain that the revised due dates and exam dates put them at a disadvantage because they couldn’t plan ahead for them.

Ya… as if….

Some will complain that their education is tainted because of the strike.

Tell me do you remember the last post secondary strike? No? Well that’s my point.

Some will just complain. They will complain no matter what the solution is.

But in the end Chris, you are right. There will be some undertone of animosity. Grumbling and whining. Frustration and criticism. Fear and anger.

Anger and fear. The emotions of power.

Because their needs have been used to accomplish someone else’s ends they are angry and afraid. These are the emotions that remind us that power is in play. The students will complain because they feel powerless and they will express it. Not in a useful form. Complaining doesn’t usually help. It is an over attention to the problem. The focus needs to be on the solution.

But the complaints will come as a reaction to the power they are feeling. Others control their future.

I expect that the faculty will be just as angry and afraid. Where will they find the time to get all the necessary material and lessons covered? They will have to redesign half of every course they are teaching. They will have to make whole new plans and negotiate with students to get the buy-in necessary to pull it off.

They will do most of that work without pay - weekends and evenings. Some are doing it right now.

We can do a power analysis. The Needs are obvious.

The students need to finish their year without increased cost or effort. The faculty need to deliver that education within a shortened time and with fewer resources.

The realm of circumstance puts a limit on the time and availability of people.

The abilities are obvious. The students have the ability to work with the faculty and increase their school efforts to accomplish this or they have the ability to resist and complain. They can refuse to do what is necessary and the faculty will be unhappy.

The faculty can work hard on their own time, revise their courses, lay out a plan and compromise on non-essential matters making the next few weeks tolerable – even enjoyable – like before. Or they can refuse to do the extra work. They can insist that the course remain the same and that the students just have to do the work and suffer through.

Both the students and the faculty have a choice.

They can use power and exploit the needs of the other. Or they can use compassion and accommodate the needs of the other.

They can examine the needs of the other and, rather than use those needs to get something that they want, they can use the awareness of the needs to generously help and support the other.

Chris, it is my intention to work on my compassion. I will be coming into the classroom saying that we are together in a tough situation. We need to focus our efforts together to make it work. To get an education and still have some fun doing it.

I will do my best not to respond to their power with my power. I will try because power never ends and power destroys trust.

Look at the mess we are in due to the use of power to date. You only ask your question because you no longer trust anyone. That loss of trust is the direct result of the present use of power.

Power and compassion are both about needs and abilities.

It seems that we can learn a lot about power from the strike. But we can also learn a lot about the opposite of power - Compassion.