Comments on: Do You Possess Clarity? http://blogs.capella.edu/askdoctoraladvising/2009/03/25/do-you-possess-clarity/ Preparing for and accomplishing a doctoral program at Capella Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:16:27 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Margery Runyan http://blogs.capella.edu/askdoctoraladvising/2009/03/25/do-you-possess-clarity/comment-page-1/#comment-5002 Margery Runyan Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:48:53 +0000 http://blogs.capella.edu/askdoctoraladvising/?p=133#comment-5002 Becoming Doctoral is a subject I have pondered long and hard. Are people with doctorates somehow superior intellectually to the rest of the world or does the doctorate teach us humility? I am beginning to believe that the more we know, the less we know. The growth of the personality towards acceptance, respect for others regardless of role or status, social justice, and faith are part and parcel of the doctoral process and represent the maturity and wisdom that a doctor needs to have. I am completely baffled by the mentoring relationship. I believed at one time that our mentors would support us through the emotional and psychic journey, as well as suggest improvements in our dissertation drafts. I have revised that thinking totally. I now think of mentoring sort of like 'hazing' in a fraternity; if the learners can eat enough goldfish we can join their courageous number who have suffered through the battles of their own dissertations. The relationship is not intricate in my mind; it is simply one person having unreasonable power over another. I suggest that everyone read Marcel Foucault. Becoming Doctoral is a subject I have pondered long and hard. Are people with doctorates somehow superior intellectually to the rest of the world or does the doctorate teach us humility? I am beginning to believe that the more we know, the less we know. The growth of the personality towards acceptance, respect for others regardless of role or status, social justice, and faith are part and parcel of the doctoral process and represent the maturity and wisdom that a doctor needs to have.

I am completely baffled by the mentoring relationship. I believed at one time that our mentors would support us through the emotional and psychic journey, as well as suggest improvements in our dissertation drafts. I have revised that thinking totally. I now think of mentoring sort of like ‘hazing’ in a fraternity; if the learners can eat enough goldfish we can join their courageous number who have suffered through the battles of their own dissertations. The relationship is not intricate in my mind; it is simply one person having unreasonable power over another. I suggest that everyone read Marcel Foucault.

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