Posts Tagged ‘family’
Posted by Jeff Davis on December 4th, 2008
I experienced nothing but a positive reply from my family, friends, and employer once I made the decision to return to school. I believe that this is because I had prepared myself in advance, before school ever started, on dealing with all of the potential issues that might have arisen during any discussions about the topic.
I made sure that I spoke with my family about the impact of my return to school and how things might need to be a little different around the house until I am finished with school. My employer also liked the idea of me returning to school since it would provide me with additional knowledge and skills that could benefit the overall company and make me a more valuable employee. However, I am certain that not everyone’s situation will yield the same results as mine. By nature, people tend to dislike change and by helping your family understand the value of this particular change, you can help them to realize that it is a good decision for everyone. In order to do your best academically, you will need to have the backing of those closest to you. These same people must be willing and able to support your efforts to be a student.
Many careers currently require that an applicant have some type of higher education in order to have a chance at competing for a job in today’s market. So, returning to school to complete my degree was a very rational decision. Today’s workforce is continually growing and in order to be able to compete, you must be able to make yourself stand out. Experience is very important, but I think that by having a college degree, you will help yourself to become a more marketable applicant.
Today, I could not be more satisfied with my decision on returning to school and doing it online. I remain more than satisfied with this life choice that will forever shape my future.
Posted by Sharon Cece on December 3rd, 2008
For many years I had toyed with the idea of returning to school, so most of my friends and family were not surprised to learn that I had finally put my goals into gear and in fact were very excited for me. My husband and children, on the other hand, had a mixed reaction. Naturally, they were very proud that I was finally going back to school to finish my degree. Their initial excitement wore off, however, as soon as it was made clear that everyone would have to “pitch in” with housework and family matters now that Mom/Wife would be spending more time studying and testing. To say this statement brought cheers of delight would be stretching it a bit, yet when push came to shove the family did adapt well to dividing up a portion of the household duties that were displaced by my studies.
One reaction that I did not anticipate came from my kids. They LOVED that mom was now a student, with all of the concerns, moans, groans and cramming that come with student life. They thrilled over my new position as “one of them”, with my nose in a book, brows furrowed over a problem I had trouble solving. One night they helped quiz me for a very tough test–this particular course was like studying a second language (and in fact, we were studying music in other languages!). I was experiencing quite a bit of testing anxiety, and the kids immediately flew into action as taskmasters, right down to imitating my mantra to them, “Now, keep studying and you’ll get it eventually, and no dessert until you finish”! I made it a point to watch what I said to them regarding their own schoolwork from then on, knowing most likely it would be used on me.
Looking back, there was not one person in my life who wasn’t excited and proud that I had made the decision to return to school. I think most of my friends and family expected it to happen, but when it finally became a reality there was a sense of “wow, good for you!” from all.
My family of four loves computers and the online environment. My husband likes to play online games, and my son also plays games and constantly downloads files. When and if my son decides to do his homework, the computer is a necessity. My daughter craves music and burns CD’s with mixes of her favorites.
Then I come along with online classes. Needless to say, the classes suddenly created fierce competition to use the family computer. My household didn’t realize the added time I would need on the computer.
Let negotiations for computer time begin! My high school-aged son volunteered to use the computer late at night. Nope. That meant I would have to drag him out of bed the next day and throw him on the bus for school. We already broke his habit of staying up too late by installing a toggle switch on the phone line dedicated to the computer.
I outsmarted my young electronics wiz by putting the switch under the bathroom sink, behind the tampons, a place where he’d never look. He would go downstairs and try to trace the path of the phone lines from where the line entered the house. He would leaves the lines dangling…leaving evidence of his search.
Later at night wasn’t an option for me either. I was usually tired by 8:00 p.m. If I sat down to watch a little TV waiting to use the computer I would fall asleep before the end of the first half hour sitcom. This is how my son’s late night habit started in the first place; he knew I was sleeping and was generally oblivious to what he was doing.
Going with the rhythm of my body, I started setting the alarm for 5:00 a.m. With a Diet Pepsi to help wake me, I could get in two hours of work on my online classes. And, it was blissfully quiet at that hour
Deep down, I’m sure my family enjoyed it when I left the house to take classes; one less computer hog!
Posted by Jeff Davis on November 27th, 2008
One of my biggest fears before enrolling in an online college was that I would not have enough time available or maybe how I would juggle my time between work, family, and school. All I could imagine is that this could be quite stressful. After all, it is not always easy balancing just work with family time and adding school on top of all my other responsibilities seemed almost impossible. I soon realized that this was really not a problem. The key to overcoming this fear was being able to balance my time effectively. If done properly, you would be amazed at how much extra time you can squeeze into your day. For me, it was important to develop a routine, find a quiet place to study, leave work at work, and to take time away from school each week. Once I developed a routine, I was more motivated. Once I found a quiet place to study, I was able to concentrate better. Once I made sure that I got my work done at work, I did not have to bring it home and could focus on my class work. Once I made sure to take at least a day off from school each week, I was able to relax more and enjoy quality time with my family. You have to remember, that in all circumstances, there will always be sacrifices that you will have to make, but just think about the great reward that will await you at the end.
Another fear of mine was how long it would take to finish my degree. I was afraid that it might take forever. But the fact is that most online degree programs today are based on accelerated learning. This means that most will take less time to complete than in a traditional learning environment. Since the online courses are typically based on shorter semesters, they can excel at delivering a quality education as quickly as possible and without sacrificing your ability to learn and absorb the material.
I was also fearful that employers would not take my degree seriously once I had graduated. I was concerned that since my degree would not be coming from some big name university, that employers might not view it as credible. Realistically, however, it has been my experience that most employers today view online degrees as not only credible, but just as equivalent as their traditional counterparts. I believe that as the demand for online education continues to grow, that more employers are realizing the validity of degrees earned online.
It has been my experience that online colleges are not that much different from traditional colleges. Having done both, I can now say that, for me, online education is the solution that I was looking for.
Posted by jstoppi on July 11th, 2008
Many prospective online degree program students are under the impression that the time commitments of an online degree program are lower than their traditional-on-campus equivalents. Even though commuting time is eliminated, my experience has been online degree programs are actually more time intensive than traditional ones. This is especially true during the first couple courses, when the online student is acclimating him/herself with the course web interface. The main reason an online degree is more time intensive is because learning concepts independently takes longer than receiving more exam specific course instruction from a professor. The extra benefit of learning concepts independently is that overall subject matter knowledge is retained–not just that required to pass an exam.
Because family members and prospective students may not realize the large time commitments an online degree program requires, students and family members may not realize the huge sacrifices everyone will have to make in order for the students to be successful in their online academic endeavor. In order to prevent unrealistic expectations and future disappointments, I recommend the following steps be taken before embarking on your online educational journey:
- Speak to family members and explain to them in detail why you want to obtain a degree via an online program. Tell them about your hopes, dreams, and how the education will enrich your life overall after completion. Tell family members how large of a time commitment undertaking an online degree may require (to get a good estimate of this, you can email professors and ask them how much time their current students are putting in).
- Negotiate a schedule with family members that will dictate when you will normally study. Keep in mind that this schedule is not set in stone, as periodically more time will be required for completion of assignments and exams.
- Open a forum to let family members voice any potential concerns they have about you enrolling in an online program.
Even after these steps are taken, there will, unfortunately, be painful moments when family and school time conflict. There will be times when you’re studying on a Saturday afternoon and your daughter wants to play with you. There will be times when your wife asks you if you want to go do something fun and you have an exam to do. There will be times when other friends and family bemoan the fact that they haven’t heard much from you lately. Deal with all of these potential situations in stride. And sometimes, on that Saturday afternoon, go play with your daughter and go back to studying after she goes to bed!
