From the smallest changes to rather larger ones, no change is possible without a creator. These days many people succumb to whats expected of them and fear changing the dynamics of their environment. I’m not a revolutionist or trying to vilify the traditions in place. Rather, I’m trying to shed light on some minor things we can do that ultimately do not hurt the institution.

It begins with you. Every morning when you come in to work, you decide what attitude you’ll have and in turn, you’ll play a big role in deciding the attitude your students will leave with. There are things you can do to make your work environment more welcoming and positive to our new breed of college students. So here are the ones I’ve employed:

• Get rid of the office chair. Ok, this one is radical. But give it a try one day, put the administrator style chair on the students side. Get a nice bouncy 85 cm gym ball and do your back a favor.
• Smile, repeat and repeat many times. A smile releases a message to the body that your guard does not need to be up. Students will feel more comfortable giving you a broader perspective.
• Have a collage wall with favorite quotes, positive images, family pictures, whatever can show that you too do have a personal life and are still a human being.

That’s all for now, hope you apply one or two and let me know if you get good results.