I recently asked several MSJC students about the hardest part of school for them and whether they felt their answer was self-inflicted or environment-inflicted in hopes of identifying which student resources would be most helpful to promote. I received a range of responses:
“For me, the hardest part about school is doing it online with tons of homework. I have always been an in-class, face-to-face student, and doing online courses is tough for me. Although you can message or email your professor for help, what can be explained face to face is so much better.”
“I think the hardest part of school is how it feels like it seeps into every gap in my life. Everything else I do happens within their specific timeframes, whether it’s work or socializing, but school and the work I need to do for it is just always there no matter what … Of course, this is self-inflicted to a degree, and you probably already know- it’s partly caused by procrastination! I won’t say I don’t have a busy schedule even without school, but I could definitely make more of an effort to dedicate specific time blocks to school so that I have more control over it rather than let it hang around me all the time and for every day of the week.”
“Hardest part of school for me would be time management. I have ADHD, which I am taking meds for, and it is very hard for me to manage full-time work with my studies. I think it is more self-inflicted rather than environmental. I have to support myself since I have no family support.”
Every student faces some type of struggle—whether that be the type of classes they are taking, school-work-life balance, procrastination/time management, lack of family support, etc. These obstacles can be detrimental to success. The good news is that at MSJC, there are resources to help with these and other obstacles!
- The Learning Resource Center provides students with free tutoring and workshops on time management, studying, and other school-related tips.
- Health Center Services provides students with resources to support their mental and physical health.
For the complete list of student resources, please visit Student Services at MSJC. Each service should have a way to contact a team that is ready to help.
From the responses that I received, the majority of students felt that their academic struggles were at least partially self-inflicted. I recently had an interview with Professor Kelsey Sportsman to discuss this revelation. Professor Sportsman has been teaching at MSJC since 2021. Her bachelor’s is in Criminology and Justice Studies, but a lot of the core work she did was sociology-related. She explained a mindset called the Sociological Imagination, which is basically “like putting yourself in other people’s shoes, and it also allows you to extend compassion to other people.”
For example, a student might look at their grades and feel that they are doing really well while their friend is struggling. At first glance, it might look like the first student is working harder or is “smarter” than their friend, but the sociological imagination would help them take a step back and see all of the additional factors that may be affecting their friend’s academic performance. These factors could include family issues, complicated work hours, an underlying mental illness, etc. With this new perspective, the first student could at least see their friend more clearly and may even be able to find a way to help their friend.
Professor Sportsman goes on to say that the sociological imagination is not just about how we view other people but how we view ourselves. Since we are so connected to our society, it is impossible for these larger factors to not have an effect on us. That’s why “It’s an important connection to be able to say, yes, I am having a personal experience, and I have the power to make decisions, but at the same time, I am constrained by the world around me. What is personal is also usually something that is happening at a larger, public level, and it helps us not feel as alone in our struggles.”
Going back to our previous example, if we look from the friend’s perspective of their grades, they might feel like they are doing poorly because they aren’t working hard enough, they can’t learn the subjects they need to, etc., but what they aren’t realizing is that there are so many other factors that may be contributing to their lack of academic success. For instance, they may not have the right teacher, enough family support, or a compatible work schedule- all of which they may or may not be able to influence. By looking at their situation this way, the student will be better able to see what they can control, and they can determine from there what they will change to improve their academic performance.
And this change in mindset doesn’t only apply to academic pursuits. Professor Sportsman shared a personal experience where she used the sociological imagination. In her senior year of high school and freshman year of college, she was in an abusive relationship. She reflected that at first, “I was inclined to place blame on myself. But then, when I started to take those sociology classes and to learn about the sociological imagination, I realized this is not just a me problem.” She realized that there were a lot of people, too many people, who had also been in abusive relationships. She said, “I think it allowed me to not dwell on it. But instead, I felt like it empowered me to realize that this was a problem beyond me and to advocate for change…”
That is the goal of the sociological imagination: to step outside of yourself and see the world around you in a new light. Every single person at MSJC is going through obstacles in their lives, but you don’t have to do it alone. Resources are available for you, and the sociological imagination could be a great way to figure out where and how to start.
