The Plan Process: Revised
I work at Bennington College, where there are no academic departments, or requirements, or letter grades. Every single student here designs, charts, and defends his or her own individual education, which typically integrates disparate fields. They do this through the Plan Process. Working closely with an academic advisor and a small faculty committee of their own choosing, students craft their Plan during sophomore year and continually revise and refine it during their ensuing years at the College.
The primary tools in this task are questions, exploration, conversation, and reflection. And, of course, there is the work in the classroom, the studio, and the real world that emerges from all of that. I think the Plan Process is an astonishing act of responsibility, intention, and imagination. I would have failed miserably at it when I was 19.
But I’m not 19. And I am ready to design my Plan.
Stay tuned.
Ahhhhh! Cliff hanger! Can’t wait to hear more.
I would have failed at 19 too! To be honest, I’m not sure how good I’d be at it now! Can you please send an advisor my way! Looking forward to hearing more about your Plans.
may I serve on your plan committee?
As the late great Dan Fogelberg sang:
Love when you can
Cry when you have to
Be who you must
That’s a part of the plan.
Await your arrival with simple survival
And one day we’ll all understand.
Go, Kate, go.
K