Hi On Sun, 20 Jan 2002, Patricia Keith-Spiegel wrote:
> First, so sorry to hear that your family is going through > such a crisis. I am not sure if this is ever helpful, but I > have been consulted several times this year alone about > instances that are remarkably similar. And, most amazingly > (at first blush), is that the professors who go the extra > mile for students were the target! My theory on that is the > professors who do the basic job (show up for class with OK > presentations, give OK tests, and sit there for the required > number of office hours) are less vulnerable. The IDEAL > professor who appropriately (as opposed to a too-personal > dual role relationship) helps students make contacts, offers > personalized educational guidance, creates enriching > off-campus opportunies, and the like, become so humanized in > the students' eyes that they are put into a new category. > Most students deeply appreciate such professors. But other > students who overpersonalized the involved professor (and > especially those with emotional issues of their own) lash out > when all does not go well and that professor is anywhere near > the stage. The saddest thing about this phenomenon (which is > not rare but thankfully not common either) is that educators' > sprits can be broken in the process, and all students lose as > result. It is probably quite difficult to determine the BASIC - IDEAL boundary. Even in clinical psychology, where boundary issues have been examined much more closely, one still finds differences between clinicians who view non-clinical relationships generally harmful and to be avoided (perhaps as represented by Borys & Pope, 1989), versus other clinicians who see non-clinical relationships as constructive (e.g., Lazarus). There might also be some assortative mating going on, with students having exceptional personal needs gravitating to faculty who appear to service such needs only, in some cases, to have the students disappointed at some point when the their perhaps escalating demands are not met. This opens the door, as Patricia observes, to the seemingly more caring faculty being most at risk. I say "seemingly most caring" because it may not always be the case that accommodations are indeed in the best interest of students, and preliminary accommodations might in part produce the greater expectations that lead to difficulty at a later point in time. Best wishes Jim ============================================================================ James M. Clark (204) 786-9757 Department of Psychology (204) 774-4134 Fax University of Winnipeg 4L05D Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9 [EMAIL PROTECTED] CANADA http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark ============================================================================ --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
