Wednesday, February 05, 2003

HOW OLD IS TOO OLD?

I noticed that I typed "I wonder" in the below post. It seems to me, in the age of informatoin, I should not do such a horrible thing as "wondering"--in the sense that I go on wondering without resolution. I decided to hit the net for answers.

And, I found them. A site dedicated to enlightenment about OTAs helped

In 1995, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, enrollment for women of all ages stood at 55 percent. Nearly 43 percent of all students enrolled in college were 25 years and older. Of that number, 60 percent were women.

--->Looking around Bemidji, and especially in the writing classes, I can see how that migh be the case here, too

But, why are they going back to school?

As more and more major businesses request that employees have at least a bachelor's degree in their specific field, many older employees are going back to college to land better paying jobs.

--->that is one reason, I am sure, and we all go to school with at least an idea of getting a better job, and that leading to a "better" life.

Again, though, I must ask about the psycology behind it?

Everyone has their own reason for returning to school. For some, a personal experience may have ignited a professional interest, which would be attainable after classes at the local community college. Maybe an on the job accident forced a career change. Many adults are just fulfilling a life long goal of getting a degree. There are so many that had to temporarily give up that goal for other commitments.

Also, For many nontraditional students, however, college isn't just a path to a job. It is also involves a discovery of a love of the arts, politics, history, public service, technology, the sciences, and the glories of a life of the mind. You don't have to have any reason for returning college other than an interest in seeing what fascinating information might be waiting for you in various classes.

--->It seems, they have a personal goal of growth and fulfillment. It is, I think, what I expected. They are "picking up where they left off" or trying to complete themselves through college. I will look for what results they get form that, I cannot find them yet.

But, in the end, the real meassage is simple:

“the original reasons we return to school, ultimately have little to do with why we continue. This is the provocative question that we as adult learners must persistently wrestle with; why do we continue to learn? In the discovery of the answers, we reach our personal and spiritual human core…”

~No man is ever old enough to know better."
-Holbrook Jackson

-
| <$BlogCommentDeleteIcon$>