{"id":115466,"date":"2020-11-11T08:49:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T13:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=115466"},"modified":"2020-12-01T17:03:38","modified_gmt":"2020-12-01T22:03:38","slug":"the-art-and-science-of-preparing-todays-students-for-the-real-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/the-art-and-science-of-preparing-todays-students-for-the-real-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art and Science of Preparing Today\u2019s Students for the Real World"},"content":{"rendered":"

Things have changed in the classroom since I became a professor more than 25 years ago. I love teaching, mentoring, interacting and watching students grow \u2014 from undergraduate to graduate to doctoral levels. I love the game.<\/p>\n

I do not assess today\u2019s changes as better or worse, just different. Society changes, generations evolve, and higher education looks like something else than it did a quarter of a century ago.<\/p>\n

My goal has always been the same, with one question: How do I challenge today\u2019s student to be prepared for a competitive and sometimes harsh world that lays people off and even fires employees for underperforming and\/or not having an indispensable skill set that an organization values enough to keep one on at the job?<\/p>\n

Here is a list of some things that we do in the sport business management<\/a> minor program to hold our students accountable and hopefully prepare them to thrive for excellence in their future careers.<\/p>\n

Reading<\/em><\/strong>. Fifty percent of students in higher education do not purchase required books for class, which is alarming. Further, the average American citizen reads up to only one book a year after graduating from college. The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you\u2019ll go. That is not taken from Dr. Seuss; however, it is the same message. Feeding your brain and applying the information that you read to life is key.<\/p>\n