The most important thing on my desk

Someone here in Kyrgyzstan asked me what the most important theories in the field of student development were.  I didn't have a great answer.  But after thinking it over for a day or two, now I do. "I don't know which theories are the most important in the field of student development," would be my answer.  "But I know what's the most important thing on my desk."

The best insights I've received from colleagues, the most heartfelt conversations I've had with students, much of the most necessary information I've received from the people I have interacted with have all been gathered from the interactions that have taken place around the bowl of chocolate on my desk.  How often has it happened that someone has popped into my office to raid my chocolate bowl "for just a second" only to stay for an hour to tell me a story that needed telling?

It can be in Arkansas, it can be in Kentucky, it can be in Kyrgyzstan, it can be in Italy, it can be in the Netherlands. The culture you're in doesn't matter.  If you have a bowl of treats in your office that's available for everyone you will learn much, get to know people, especially students, and gain insight beyond what you might ever expect.

No, it's not much in terms of a theory.  Nothing scholarly or learned about it.  But, the most important thing on my desk is my bowl of chocolate and that bowl has mattered more than any theory I could ever imagine.