A USMC Veteran Thinking about Veterans and Higher Education

[Occasionally in this blog, I will include verbatim exchanges with my peers about certain issues.  I like sharing my "on-time" development dialogues in hopes that they will give you a glimpse into how I work, at what my developmental philosophy is, and how tightly integrated I am with my colleagues.  I definitely do not work alone.  In this entry, I'm including parts of a conversation I had with a developer in another state looking to create resources for veterans.  My colleague sent me drafts of programmatic ideas she had and asked me what I thought.  This is what I thought.  At MSU, we're moving towards creating web based resources that not only focus on service to incoming veterans, but also on key teaching/learning issues associated with educating adult learners.  Many universities are beginning to create or embellish existing programs for veterans.  They often use the American Council for Education's guidelines as a baseline for program development.  I think the ACE's Serving Those Who  Serve ... site a great start.  But I wish more efforts would be devoted to helping faculty understand adult education and how those principles can solidly prepare us for working with this population.] 


“Many of the solutions to accommodating (that’s not entirely the correct concept) this group can be found rooted deeply in sophisticated thinking about what constitutes good teaching: organizational and presentational reflection, serious attention to good practice, context-setting and  facilitating audience awareness, and having sensitivity enough (and courage) to move in directions unanticipated. May I gently ask you to reconsider what I see generally in terms of your schedule: that is, treating my peers as “diseased?” Or somehow sick? Heaven (or whatever metaphysical space) knows, that the language of development unfortunately rests on “curing” something. Yes, yes, surely for those serving in wartime (in combat or not) things may have occurred that left lasting marks, perhaps potentially debilitating marks. But the very large majority of returning vets are ready just to get on being integrated in to the worlds they imagine for themselves. I think our roles as teachers are to help them make concrete their wishes and desires. If you’re designing programs specifically for those returning vets with issues THEY claim makes them need special accommodation, then do just that. Just as you would any population that doesn’t “fit” the imagined “norm” of 18 – 23 year old middle class college life. What’s increasingly interesting to me is that this population begs deeper discussion about long extant concerns about the psychology of our students; their origins, socialization, lives… Otherwise, I know when I stepped back into undergrad, somewhat older, somewhat scarred, but undeniably present (and scared to death that I wasn’t smart enough), all I wanted was to have a space where I could share how I thought what I’d gone through added relevantly to the classroom conversation at hand. When it wasn’t relevant, but still affected how I was relating., learning, etc., I saw a therapist.

(….), many vets carry with them issues that military service only exacerbated. In no way am I implying that this population doesn’t deserve at least serious consideration of how their experiences may have shaped their subsequent college life. If I may be frank, part of what has me concerned about the public rhetoric defining this group is that it often pushes faculty, TAs, anyone part of their classroom and lab experiences into having to be pseudo-therapists, often for ailments that never existed.

But of course, you and I know, for some the pain is there, and I would always want to be known as a teacher who had multiple ways of getting my students through school, or just getting them into their own heads in ways that they can get on. I am no therapist.

So, when I look at the proposed schedule, a few things come to mind:

1. Be very careful with the panel thing. Panels can be lovely ways for opening up dialogue; fantastically bad for conveying meaningful information unless well facilitated. May I suggest a fish-bowl panel with an experienced vet psychologist and a non-com officer and if possible, commissioned officer? The facilitator would have to be a good panel discussion facilitator, but also know how to work with military and non-military participants.

2. Counseling Center stuff: Excellent – if those talking about this stuff know what they’re talking about. I’m all for this. The problem is that this move casts relationships with VET students outside the realm of class. I can talk with you on the phone more about that.

3. The stress thing is real; but not so real GENERALLY as to be hugely different as one of my inner city Detroit students trying to integrate into predominately white, middle-class MSU. Here’s what I was stressed about: being older, feeling like I was “heavier,” wondering if and how all the powerful things I learned as a Marine would translate into academic contexts; negotiating age similarity with faculty; negotiating feelings of ineptitude because I felt like I wasn’t part of some imagined undergrad educational mainstream. In short, how could I connect my day to day understandings of my life to school? Could I make of my recent life something intelligible to my faculty? Might I be able to weigh in occasionally (and appropriately – classroom rules are huge to this group) with how what I knew, had experienced was relevant? Could I just be part of a well facilitated, caring, challenging, and acknowledging classroom experience? And occasionally, could I just disappear, and not be the “problem” student?

4. Yes on the disability/SPED  – I can never get as deeply integrated into those support services as I want. Personally, that frame is very important to me, but not just because of vet issues.

5. The brain thing is something altogether different than most other disability issues. I’m afraid you’ll need someone more experienced than me to sort out why…


We can talk more about what it means to socialize faculty to this group – but this group is widely, and wildly diverse. Get XXXX out there as a place that recognizes this. Program accordingly. How many vets does the state have? How many are there at your institution? What are their social, racial, cultural origins pre-military service?


Otherwise, my recommendation to your instructors is that serious investigation into who your students say they are, powerfully attentive listening, and authentic care for one’s charges ameliorates so much. For those that need more help. We’re there; not alone, but in concert with all the supports that schools can offer now."

{NOTE:  It's apparent that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans' experiences are unique in US military history.  They often serve successive tours, making the transiion back to civilian life difficult for many. }