Forward

karen southall wattsBreakingBarriersCommunication issues betweeneducators and veterans stemfrom differences in how eachgroup views the purpose ofcommunicationBy Karen Southall Watts, Contributing WriterDuring the past few years, in the wake of a terrible economicmeltdown and with the availability of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, studentpopulations have swelled as thousands of veterans have returned toschool. This group represents a unique and challenging subset of the studentswe call nontraditional, and many times neither they nor their colleges areprepared for the trials that await them. As a nation, we want to invest in ourveterans and their education; it is only a small payment on the debt we owethem for their service. However, as a sector, adult education sometimesfails to connect with these students. We just don’t seem to speak the samelanguage.Over the years, I’ve been privileged to work with many veterans in mycapacity as an instructor and a tutor. The struggles of these students toeffectively communicate within the college environment can be especiallyfrustrating to watch as men and women who have given so much to ourcountry try to acclimate to the language and manner of the college world.Failure to communicate appropriately in the college environment, either inperson or in writing, prevents many veterans from achieving the successthey so earnestly desire. When college staff and faculty better understand thecommunication differences between our system and the military mindset,we can then bypass some of the frustration and move on to achieving ourmutual goal of sending veterans out of our doors better prepared for the nextchapter in their lives. Better communication is the foundation for everythingelse we do for these deserving students.One of the wonderful things about working in both the worlds of academiaand business is that many concepts do transfer from one environment to theother. One of these realities is the need to understand the communicationstyle and preferences of others in order to improve the quality of interactions.Communication difficulties between educators and student-veterans canbe traced back to a few common differences in how each group views theprocess and purpose of communication.NOVEMBER 2013 | 64