This is a talk I give the parents of incoming freshmen at Jacksonville State University during the summer orientation sessions of 2015

2. WHO AM I?
Professor of History
Chair of History & Foreign Languages
Department
8th year at JSU
1st Gen College Student
Business  Education  History Ph.D.
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

3. WHO ARE THESE KIDS OF YOURS?
“Millennials”
Highly ambitious
High achieving
Pressured
Protected
More “with it” than you think
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COLLEGE
Everything counts now
They’ll learn to be an adult, a good
employee
A time of self-discovery, broadening
horizons
Develop their whole self, their adult identity
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

5. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Average student changes major 3-5 times
Trust them to make the right decisions for their future
Don’t panic if they sign up for an off-the-wall course
(They need to explore and find themselves)
Passion and excitement over something > a life of safe
choices
You don’t want them to graduate and dread Monday
for the rest of their lives
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

6. 75% of employers agree with this statement:
“Being well rounded with a range of abilities is
more important than having industry expertise
because job-specific skills can be learned at
work.”
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

7. WHAT’S YOUR ROLE?
Support role, not Special Ops rescue team
Let them work out of jams
(It’ll make them better adults, employees, parents)
Be their rock, home base, comfort
But let them fly on their own, don’t rush to their rescue when
YOU panic…
Know that at some point IT will “click” for them
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

8. Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

9. ADVICE FROM A DEPARTMENT HEAD
Don’t go straight to the top
(you will find issues addressed MUCH faster at department level)
Be nice to secretaries/staff, they don’t make the rules
(But they can be a big help if you treat them nicely)
FERPA (Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act 1974)
We have a LOT of assistance here for your kids.
Their success makes us look good!
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

10. YOUR KIDS’ LIFE EXPLAINED WITH LEGOS
This is a tough time for us parents
Life transitions aren’t hard and this is one of the
hardest
Children to adults
Bittersweet
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

11. LEGO STAGE 1: YOU AND THEM, TOGETHER
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

12. STAGE 2: THEY GO SOLO ON SMALL PROJECTS
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

13. STAGE 3: DAD, WATCH ME, BUT BE READY TO HELP
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

14. STAGE 4: THEN THEY START TO CREATE ON THEIR OWN
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

15. STAGE 4: THEN THEY START TO CREATE ON THEIR OWN
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

16. STAGE 5: THEN THEY BLOW YOU AWAY
Dr. Gordon Harvey | GO! Parent Tips 2015

18. Questions or
problems:
Contact me:
gharvey@jsu.edu