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By James Garlock
If you have ever thought of going back to school, please read on. I am writing to persuade you to, at the very least, try it. Whether you have been thinking about starting a degree, finishing a program you started years ago, or just taking some courses of interest, try it. I graduated from high school ten years ago. I tried college for a couple of years and dropped out. Of all the people that I know, I was the last person I would picture back in a classroom. I was married and had a good job, a house and a new car. Believe me, school was the last thing on my mind. One day I found out that my employer would pay for a majority of my tuition if I went back to school. I thought that was very generous, but I still had no interest. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had started as soon as I could. I had all of the excuses that I am sure you have considered. I do not have the time, I was not a good student in the past, I failed at college the first time, this list was endless. I now realize that this was a list of excuses. What you have to understand is, as an adult, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. My wife, who was currently a student, encouraged me to give it a try. She knew that I enjoyed my job, and tried to tell me how much more my career could mean to me. I do not know why, but I decided to try it. The first class I took was an algebra course. I knew from the moment that I enrolled that I would be out of place. I knew that the class would be filled with kids fresh out of high school, and fresh out of math classes. I had not done more than balance my checkbook for over seven years. The first thing that the teacher did was go around the room and ask every one to introduce themselves and tell the class why they had signed up. Wouldn’t you know it, I was first. I explained that I wanted a greater understanding of the work that I do, and I want to make my current job into a career. I understood that the field in which I was working, chemistry, was built strongly on mathematics, so I felt that is where I should start. It was amazing; the teacher was very interested in what I do. Even the younger students started to ask me questions. As we proceeded around the room, it became clear that I was one of the few people that had a purpose. The standard response was, "This class is required." I had not even considered what was required. As the class proceeded for a few weeks, I could see that the teacher went out of her way to give examples that directly related to my work. I found myself, for the first time in my life, wanting to study. I wanted to learn more. Even if you have been out of school for a few years, you probably remember cramming for exams. I found that this time I did not have to. Now that I had an interest in the subject, I wanted to learn the material for its practical purposes. I am not saying that I got A’s on my exams. Quite the opposite, I did poorly on a few of them, but I wanted to know why. I corrected my mistakes and learnt from them. My goal in that first class was to learn enough information to understand the next class. You have to understand that as an "adult student," grades do not matter. No one will see them. It is just a measure to see what information you need to review. If you try taking a class that you have a great interest in, you will appreciate the mistakes you make, and feel good about overcoming those obstacles. I had one teacher tell me that I was one of the best students in the class. I was barley passing the class at the time, but he could tell that I was eager to learn. I worked hard because I wanted to use the skills being taught. I really was not interested in my GPA. I took a few more classes and found a strange thing starting to happen. Although this was not my goal, my GPA was starting to climb. If you are worried about being the oldest person in the class, please do not! I felt out of place for only about five minutes of my first class. I found that the other students look up to someone with more life experiences than they have. It was the first time in my educational career that people would come to me for help. Not because they thought I would know the answer, but they knew that I would work with them to find it. I found that the more I could help other people, the better I understood the material. This really helped my self-esteem at school, at work, and at home. Some unexpected things I have enjoyed are the relationships with the instructors. I remember the teachers being the enemy when I was in high school, and my first years of college. Now it is completely different. They seem to take special interest in older students. I think that they realize these students are here of their own free will. They know exactly where they are going and are taking the steps to get there. It is typical today for a college student to change their major three or four times, before they graduate, while someone returning to school has more of an all or nothing attitude. They have decided before returning where they want to go, rather than blindly taking classes while trying to decide what the future will hold for them. If you know where you want to be in the future, this could be for you. I have talked with some other "non-traditional students" as we are called. I asked one woman what her kids thought of her going back to school. She was quick to pull some pictures out of her purse. She bragged about how well her two daughters were doing in school, and told me that they bragged about her too. She said that she had to sacrifice some time from the other things she enjoys, but she feels that it is a great example to set for her children. I agree. If you are a parent, imagine how it would be to sit down with your child to do your homework, rather than send them to their room to study while you watch TV. I was worried when I started that scheduling would be a problem. I work full time, so I thought I would not be able to sign up for the classes I wanted. I was pleasantly surprised that the local community college caters to people just like me. They offer classes in the early morning, and in the evenings. They even have sections that meet on the weekends. I am currently trying a new approach to education. It is a class that does not meet at all. It is an interactive class taught over the Internet. I think that more classes using this, or similar technologies are going to be more widespread in the future. When I first returned to school, I was concerned with all of the things I would have to give up. I work second shift, so I knew that I would have to start getting up earlier in the morning. I now realize what a great feeling it is to be in class in the morning bettering myself, rather than at home watching TV, or sleeping in. I was in my 8:00 a.m. class last week when I realized that I could be at home watching the Jerry Springer show. It was a good feeling to go to bed that night knowing the atomic structure for hydrochloric acid, rather than spending my time studying the subject of two timing men, and the women that love them. As I continued in my classes, I found more time to study. I became much more organized in my life. I set up a schedule for myself and learned to follow it. For the first time, I was living my life instead of letting it live me. These organization skills have moved into other areas of my life too. I have made much better use of my time on the job, and at home. I have even found time to study on my breaks at work, rather than playing cards with the guys. At first, they could not understand why I would want to take so much time out of my life. Some of them are now starting to realize that I am not taking time out of my life, but rather investing time into it. You will be amazed at the respect that you will earn quickly from your co-workers and your employers when they see you taking charge of your life. I remember when I was in high school that it was not cool to be smart. I remember how we thought that the kids that stayed home to study did not have a life. I can see now that these students were making a life for themselves. No matter who you are, it is not too late to make that change in your life. I am not saying that you need an education to have a life, but I feel that the experience of gaining knowledge will help you grow no matter what your age. I really think that you owe it to yourself to try going back to school. Even if you take a photography class, or want to learn to draft, try it. You have nothing to lose. If you try it and do not like it, you will still have gained some new knowledge about the world. However, if you do not try it, you are losing out on a wonderful opportunity. I was once told that an education is about the only thing that can not be taken away from you. I believe this to be true. Once you have a command of knowledge, it is yours forever.
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