Apples and Honey

Today is Rosh Hashannah. Rosh Hashannah, as you may know, is the Jewish New Year and a holiday of thankfulness and promise. One of the traditions of the holiday is to dip apples in honey to have a sweet new year. As we speak, I have honey cookie dough chilling, waiting to be baked and apples ready to be called into play on the counter. I think apples and honey are also a good analogy for Academic Support.[1]

Apples are often associated with teachers and we are --above anything else--teachers. Apples can mean wisdom and insight-think Sir Isaac Newton and his discoveries in physics all due to falling apples (or so the story goes). Academic Support people are also big thinkers and scholars-just look at the catalog of our collective work. Apples are also a sign of fall, like your friendly neighborhood ASP professional teaching at orientation. We are versatile and come in many varieties as well.  We work well alone or with other ingredients.

However, we are also like the honey. We work incredibly hard (like bees) to make things a little sweeter for the people around us. We work together like a hive. We cooperate and collaborate to make structures that provide comfort to our students. In fact, as academics go, I think we are the most generous and willing to share. We do not hold back. And yet, like bees, sometimes we are not adequately valued.

So, to all of you who celebrate-and those of you who don’t-I wish you a sweet year ahead in every part of your personal and professional life.

Shana Tova. Happy 5783!!

(Liz Stillman)

 

[1] Just a warning that I will let this analogy play out beyond its logical conclusion.