doubt

Summer months can be tough for WPAs, I think, or maybe WPAs who tend to question their own abilities. Despite the report writing, placement exam reading, scheduling, etc, etc., the quiet moments breed doubt. Am I doing the right thing? I took on this position at the wrong right time: as the campus geared up for its first revision of its gen ed program ever AND as new public policy in Michigan was dictating how we assess and coordinate requirements for our transfer students (about 60% of our undergraduates here!). This has presented lots of challenges for us--opportunities to articulate what we do, to consider new possibilities, to think of the implications of change and the implications of the status quo. How will decisions impact students (and which ones)? Lecturers? My tenured and tenure-track colleagues? I have the sense this coming academic year will be the most challenging of my career, maybe one that along with my Fulbright year will be seminal in defining what my mid-career life looked like.