A Sonnet for Dissertation Learners
With profound apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, I hereby submit a sonnet for dissertation learners trying to gain mentor approval . Yes, I have taken liberties with the verse (may my poetry writing instructor from my undergrad days forgive me), but you’ll get my drift:
How do I meet thy approval? Let me learn the ways.
I have written from the depth and breadth and height
Of my soul, even though I am in cyberspace beyond your sight.
Seeking the ends of pleasing you and earning my place
In the world of scholar-practitioner and PhD, all by your grace,
I write at day’s beginning and into the hours wee
to revise by sun and candlelight, this evasive methodology.
I try to follow what you say despite my urge to moan and fret
And try as I may, but alas I am not there, yet.
I trust thee with all my breath, smiles, tears, to help me get
this dissertation done, and then can claim the title PhD.
Then I shall but praise thee better, O Mentor, you bet.
My intent is not to satirize the approval process but, rather, to offer support and suggestions. In a sense, the dissertation process is ”An Exercise in RE’s.” In other words, REvising, REviewing, REwriting, REdoing, REthinking, REtracing, REvisiting, REdesigning, REdirecting, and on and on. None of us who earned a doctorate escaped unscathed. But, I know that my thinking and writing skills were greatly improved during the process of REvising REwriting my proposal at least a dozen times.
Mentor and committee feedback is meant to guide learners. Capella mentors and advisors couldn’t be prouder of our learners when they succeed. But for learners to succeed, they must meet the high academic standards that Capella expects. To approve work that doesn’t meet these standards would be detrimental to all of us – learners, faculty/staff and the greater community of scholars.
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January 20th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Amen
January 28th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
I liked your sonnet and have printed it out for a re-read when I need something to smile about. I’m new to doctoral learning and frankly, scared spitless. I am no spring chicken and asked myself more than once ‘what were you thinking!’. I manage to push self-doubt aside only to learn more about the rigors of becoming a PhD.
Would you be so kind as to tell me how you arrived at a dissertation topic? I know we want to develop new knowledge but when I really think about it, the concept seems daunting. How will I know if what I want to do is new? What if everything has already been discovered and I’m the last one in line to try to come up with a new idea? Those are a few of the thoughts that try to dissuade me from this goal. Of course, I will plunge ahead and complete my studies but it would be so nice to hear from someone already succesful. Anything you feel like sharing would be great!
Vicki
January 29th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Thanks for your comment and your questions, Vicki. I began teaching adults in the late 70’s. When I walked into my first classroom of 14 students, I quickly surmised that half of them were older than I. It was scary–to think I had something worthwhile to say to them. Well, I quickly discovered that they had valuable life experience to bring to the classroom. Some of them, though, seemed to be experiencing anxiety similar to what you are describing. Along the way I completed an M.S. and was introduced to Malcolm Knowles, the “Father of Andragogy.” Later, as I began my PhD studies, I came across a book by Patricia Cross entitled “Adults as Learners.” It was in reading and studying this text that the “lights came on.” My topic and my instrument, which I designed based on her work, continued to be honed as I expanded my knowledge of adult education literature. Every person’s story is different, but choosing a topic was, in my opinion, not so much my choosing it; rather, it chose me.
January 29th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Vicki,
I arrived at a dissertation topic by thinking back through my career and some of the questions I repeatedly encountered. But it was one event and how it was handled that really tripped my trigger. I realized how much misinformation and disinformation existed on the topic — but no real carefully gathered and analyzed information. My literature search was comprehensive and it demonstrated that some studies nibbled at the corners of my topic, but I could find nothing that had dealt squarely with my topic. My mentor kept reminding me that I wanted a topic that I would be as passionate about when I completed the dissertation as I was when I began it. And I am still passionate about it!