"Face of the Believer" (2003) by Guang Yi
According to Martin Seligman, in addition to GPA, SAT and AP results, one other important factor that makes “a difference for young adults dealing with this particularly stressful first year of college: optimism.”
Given Seligman’s research demonstrating this claim, would it be a good idea to ask Honors Program candidates this question: “On a scale from 1-10, with '1' representing ‘not at all confident,’ and '10' representing ‘absolutely confident,’ how confident are you that you will thrive in the Honors Program at ECU?”
Would it be wise for ECU’s Honors Program to consider candidates's answers to this question when they determine their suitability for the program?
I think that it is a good idea to ask Honors Program candidates the question stated above, but I do not think that the answer should be considered by the ECU Honors Program. I think it should be more of a question for the candidate who may be wondering if the Honors Program is a good fit for them so they can answer it honestly and for their benefit. If the question is to be considered for the suitability, then the applicant could exaggerate their answer to make it seem like they would be a great fit when in reality, they would not be.
ReplyDeleteThis could be a good question to ask potential Honors members as a sort of reality check. However, I don't think the Honors program should consider a candidate based on their answer to this; for one thing, if a person is trying to be modest and says they aren't totally confident, that should not ruin their chances. Another thing to consider is that sometimes we surprise ourselves, like the question before this one.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think it is a wise idea to judge candidates based on their answers to this. Answers could range from insecure to braggadocious and all because of the mindset we find ourselves in when we leave high school. I know that I left high school very arrogant and pompous and college was a reality check for me, many others, especially in this age of our life, will come off as either extremely doubtful of their own self worth or overconfident of their abilities. The question, in my opinion, is not worth asking due to the answer probably not being accurate.
ReplyDeleteI'm obviously a bit nervous with this big step in life that I am taking, but I 100% without a doubt believe Honors is going to give me a space for positive discussions (even if topics aren't so positive), growth, and learning. I think I would put my outlook at a good 9/10. The reason for it not being 10/10 is because I'm pretty shy and introverted, but I hope to grow out of that and into the potential 10/10.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great question to ask future Honor's members, because while it's a great program that allows for a solid community, great learning spaces, and educational trips, not everyone will be optimistic about it. Still, I do believe that some people may pin their confidence at a 1/10 and still be perfectly good coming into Honors. Sometimes pessimists are more focused on their present self, and not on what they could grow to become. I've been working on my own pessimistic tendencies, and I probably would have put myself lower in the beginning, but now I've gotten a smidge of the experience that is soon to come, and I couldn't be any more excited.
Although this is a great question to ask Honors Program candidates, I do not think that the candidate’s answer should be the determining factor on whether the student is suitable for the program. College is a big step in an individual’s life, especially those who just graduated high school. When you are 18-19 years old and must move to a brand-new town away from your family with a bunch of strangers you’ve never met before, it can be very nerve racking. The whole college life experience can be a lot for candidates and especially freshmen candidates. If this question was asked, and a student simply did not get in the program because of their answer, I think it would crush their confidence about college overall. Programs like Honors are meant to build self confidence and relationships within the student body. Although I wouldn't determine a candidate’s suitability for this program off that one question, I think it would be awesome for the program to ask 1st year honors students the question and if they remain in honors for their 2nd year, ask them the same question again. I am sure that the numbers will go up and the students will be way more confident than their first year.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right. If only eternal optimists were allowed to participate, I imagine the atmosphere would soon become insufferable. When considering what the book had to say about being overly optimistic, I imagine any program led by only optimists, being ineffective. I can imagine overconfidence and impracticality would lead them to bite off more than they can chew, resulting in half-baked schemes. On the other hand, a council of only pessimists would never start anything. With a diverse program, like our own, comprised of individuals who tend to be more pessimistic and those who are more often optimistic, there is balance. Creative ideas may be thought up and put to scale--leading to better outcomes overall, and a flourishing program as a whole.
DeleteI think not. People generally do not understand themselves well enough to answer a question relating to self-confidence confidently. I will admit that Seligman's research is an exciting demonstration of how optimism can indicate a successful first year of college, but optimism is learned through experience. I see no reason to use the "On a scale from 1-10" question to decide if an upcoming first-year student is worthy of entering the honors program.
ReplyDeleteI also think not. And while you may be right that people are not generally able to evaluate themselves confidently or accurately, I don't think that cuts down to the root of the issue: admission shouldn't be about optimism, it should be about potential. If a student has already demonstrated potential, especially for that of consistent growth, then they should be strongly considered for the program. I am also not a huge fan of boiling down peoples mindsets to such a simple question; everyone is different and everyone's perception of themselves and of how that scale is weighed varies.
Delete****people's mindsets
DeleteI think it would be ok to ask the question, but I don't think it would be a great idea to consider the question as part of the admission. Many people may think they aren't going to do good in the Honors program when in reality they are going to thrive. It is just going to depend how that person grows in their college walk.
ReplyDeleteI think this would be a great question to ask. However, I feel as if some students’ responses would be effected if they knew it was going to be considered by the program. Students would provide a much more honest answer if they knew it was just to see where their head was at during the beginning of the year. All in all, I think the question would be an important question to ask just to see where everyone is at with their feelings toward that, but it should not be a deciding factor of if they are part of the program or not.
ReplyDeleteI believe a healthy amount of optimism is good for anyone. I would like it if there were ways to keep students from stressing out more. Counselors and stuff is fine, but there should be something in the classroom that makes it less stressful in the first place. There shouldn’t be a need to seek optimism elsewhere. Being pessimistic in a healthy dose is also a good thing. It keeps people down to earth and able to think realistically. Too much of both can make one person very sad in the end. I don’t think this would be needed in considering candidates, but I think it’s something to consider for anyone in general. If you need to ask “why is everyone so pessimistic” or vise versa, then there is something wrong.
ReplyDeleteI don’t believe it would be wise for the honors program to consider the answer to that question to determine suitability. In my purely anecdotal experience, people who have an overly positive self assessment of their abilities, are often times the most incompetent people around. I don’t believe that such a simple question could ever effectively predict whether someone was competent enough to be part of the honors program, and I think relying on such subjective ideas as ‘optimist vs pessimist’ will lead to nothing but failure.
ReplyDeleteI think that asking this question would be eye opening and interesting for the Honors Program. In my own experience, many students who are actively engaged in prestigious groups are not as confident as one would assume. However, I don't think that the program should take the answer into account when making decision on a student's entry into Honors. Rather than turn away and ignore a person who struggles with confidence in their abilities, I think it would be helpful for the program to understand the strengths and weaknesses of its participants.
ReplyDeleteI like this idea! I've always been a person to lean on the side of optimism and am a firm believer in the Mindset Is Everything camp of success. The phrasing of the question, also intrigued me. I like the word "Thrive" in there because it isn't strictly about gaining entry to the program, but will it impact you beneficially. The idea could also be used as a sort of marker for growth! Maybe passively asking it in the interview, regardless if it impacts the interview or not, and recording what they say. Then, at the end of their first year ask them a similar question and see how the answer changes. We could have numerical proof that the program is having a positive impact on students. It would also show if anyone was really struggling and could use that extra moral boost, or just need a nice chat about Burn Out or the like. Long answer short; I like this idea!
ReplyDeleteI disagree that it would create numerical proof of the programs positive impact. Questions asked at the end of a program such as has the program helped you, people will always tend to answer yes/higher on the scales. this is due to them not wanting to believe they have wasted their time and convince themselves their hard work was more worthwhile than it was. Like the one phycological study where the lower the reward the more fun a person reported achieving from a task. This skewing of the data as well as the impossibility of defining a concept such as positive impact especially through such simple questions leads me to believe it wouldn't create proof of anything really.
DeleteIf optimism is a sign of success, then I think that would be a good question to find students who could be successful in the honors program. But I don't know if that would be a good idea. In UThrive, we're told that we have the ability to change our mindset to reap the benefits of both optimism and pessimism. before I became an honors student, I was a pessimist. But after this reading assignment I'm better off because I know I'm not in fact doomed to fail.
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