Jeanne Sjoholm Kagey is writing about her experiences as a Non Traditional Student.

Back to School after 50! started in May 2007 and is now on Part III, Chapter 3.

Read it all below!

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The Non traditional Student  Part I

Back to school after 50!

Chapter 1 by Jeanne Kagey

THE NON TRADITIONAL STUDENT

The first indication that this was not going to be like any other class I had taken in the past after a 50 year absence from high school, was when my hearing aid battery began to beep letting me know it was time for a new battery.  As carefully as I could, without drawing attention to myself, I looked in my purse for the battery pack I always keep on hand, hoping I did indeed still have one battery left.  Luck was with me on this one and I managed to insert the new battery before the professor began class and I would need my hands for serious note taking. 

I had already passed my first hurdle in registration when the class I selected was canceled due to low enrollment and I had to find another that would fly.  I had purchased the book for that canceled class only the week before and now had to return it and find a new book for this Psychology class.  The bookstore refunded my $136 for books but sadly informed me that the summer Psychology class did not require a book.  Now I was in real trouble.  How was I going to keep up without a book when I would be missing 2 class lectures for a trip I had already scheduled?  Well, one thing at a time and I would adopt the Scarlet O’Hara philosophy and worry about that tomorrow.  

In opening comments for the class and as an introduction, the professor informed us of his expectations, gave us a syllabus and discussed some culture issues that he found troubling.   One of those is the need to constantly have stimulation in our lives via television, I-pods and cell phones.  He inquired if any of us ever just sit and quietly spend some time thinking and contemplating issues with these modern annoyances turned off.   I prayed that at that moment the cell phone in my pocket would remain silent having forgotten to turn it off before I entered class!

Another issue the professor addressed was attendance.  How could a serious student expect to pass a class or take full advantage of an opportunity to learn if they did not commit their full attention to and attend all classes from beginning to end.  Whoops!  That very night, my only grandson was coming on the Badger from Manitowoc to spend only one night with me on his way home in Connecticut from college in Minnesota.  Having not seen him in a year and being very pleased that he would take the time to visit grandma, this was an important event for me.  I had planned to leave class thirty minutes early to see the boat arrive.  That is until I heard the professor and prior to that was scolded by my grandson who told me I could not cut class.  My grandson’s exact quote was ‘Grandma, you can’t cut class!  I know these things.’  The kid is OK in my book.  

Now my major concern is that my handwriting improves so I can decipher the notes before they get cold.  I surely don’t want to be shown up by a bunch of kids all of whom are young enough to be my grandchildren.  First test is next week and that will separate the men from the boys, which was the expression I learned before we all felt pressure to become politically correct.

July 10, 2007

On the first test I took, I received an 84!  Not great by my standards and it took me 2 days to tell anyone what my grade was!  That was followed by the 2nd test on which all the class scored lower and I missed 2 lectures because of a pre-arranged trip to Washington DC.  The professor was kind enough to give me the notes for the lectures I would miss and I studied very hard for this 2nd test.  The material was much more in depth but the test was structured in the same manner, 1st page True or False, 2nd page match a list 15 words to answers, and 3rd page multiple choice!.  I got a 76!  Sooo, the 84 is not looking so bad after all and the next test is this week Thursday.  The Prof. will throw out the lowest score we get and I am praying for redemption!  I have a paper due next week to see if I can write something that makes sense from all this psychology I am being introduced to.

More in the next installment!

July 13, 2007

I think I got 2 points higher on last nights test from previous tests. Onward and upward.  A 50 point paper due next week.

September 18, 2007

The Non traditional Student  Part II

Back to school after 50!

Chapter 2 by Jeanne Kagey

How did I talk myself into this in the first place?  What was I thinking?  Here I am at a place in my life when I can do all the fun things we retired folks feel we have earned the right to enjoy and I am back in school.  The first test is Thursday and will I be ready?  Exhausting any retentive brain cells after an almost 50 year lapse is truly intimidating in a class of very bright young people who could all be my grandchildren.  And these folks are here for a future ahead of them while I have merely set out to prove I can still be in the game!

The test is a true and false on the first page followed on the second page by matching words to definitions.  The later is just a matter of knowing most and by process of elimination getting the rest correct or hoping so.  It is the last part of the test that does me in.  This is multiple choice.  I am told by educators these are the hardest for students as we all have a tendency to second guess ourselves and the answers are written just close enough to fool you if you don’t really have a firm knowledge of the subject matter.  I get an 82!  It took me two days to tell anyone what I scored!  I was not in the top tier but neither am I in the bottom.  I take the second test two weeks later and score 76!  The 82 is looking better all the time!  But wait, the whole class scored lower on the second test and I am reprieved.  By the third test, I am scoring higher and get an 84!  Things are looking up.  Cannot believe I missed answering one question.  I could have had an 86!  Bad break.  The professor surprises us on the last test and it is an open book.  Who knew!  I score a 98!  Now how do you do that on an open book?  It will remain a mystery.

In the process of all this testing we are also challenged to write a term paper.  We are given our choice of subjects to write about using our acquired knowledge from this class to argue our position.  I choose ‘Road Rage’ as my topic as I had been the recipient of a never to be forgotten experience with an angry drive while my children were in the car.  The paper must incorporate psychological terms to substantiate our knowledge of what we have studied and hopefully learned.  I must have done okay on this one as I score the entire 50 points the professor allowed.  Things are going to get better and I leave the class with a B+.  The grandson tells me he was expecting an A but lets see how he does 50 years from now.  

If the truth were to be told, I had for many years yearned to get that college diploma so I could be on the same playing field as my sister and brother.  Sibling rivalry even at this age but more then that a yearning to complete something I always knew I had short changed myself out of when I choose marriage and a family at a young age.  I have attended many classes for my job in banking and when I found myself experiencing empty nest syndrome in 1976, I attended Ferris State College for an evening class or two.  Altogether I have 19 credits accumulated that will transfer toward this goal and if I stay on schedule, I can do this before I am 76.  Well, that is if the old body holds up.  Gotta get to the gym more often.  There’s always something around the corner stalking us.

November 19, 2007

The Non traditional Student  Part III

Back to school after 50!

Chapter 3 by Jeanne Kagey

The Fall-Winter semester began in September and I have committed to two classes this time.  I graduated to a tougher schedule following the initial hesitation that I could really do this.  So I am at school four days a week with one class each day.  When I do this again, I will definitely schedule the classes on the same day if possible and give myself a break at the gas pump.  When you factor that expense in with the normal school expenses, books, fees and tuition, you can only feel empathy for the serious student who is working toward a degree for a brighter future in the job market.  You don’t see many new cars in the parking lots at colleges and these older models are gas guzzlers.

It seems a requirement that everyone seeking a degree should take a computer class and so I have chosen ‘Making Computers Work for You’.  Should be a piece of cake as I have used computers with my job when I was employed, with e-mail, as church treasurer and to create news letters for different projects with which I have been involved.  Ah, but the difference is that the programs I used in the past, are just that...out of date.  Programmers would not stay employed if they did not create, upgrade and modify all existing programs and the bells and whistles on the newer versions are daunting.  As with most tools, if you don’t use it, you loose it.  But I will persevere.    The first day of class finds the room full with eager students.  Strangely enough the fellows find seating in the back and the ladies find the front rows.  I wonder what my psychology teacher would make of this.  Is it just the ladies first mentality we teach boys?  When I relate this to teacher friends, they tell me that this is a common occurrence when they attend meetings and seminars with men.  I love teachers!  They are so full of interesting facts!

We begin this computer class with Word, move on to Excel which is spread sheets, and then will finish with Power Point used to prepare overhead projection.  Word goes a little slower for me than I expected because of all the new options in the programs and Excel is not too bad.  Power Point will be fun.  We loose almost a third of our class in the first month apparently.  One student confesses to me that this is her third try at a computer class and she is in it this time to finish.  This class is not made up of all recent graduates as I find also in my Western Civilization class.  West Shore Community College serves a diverse student body.  Many of my classmates are older and seeking skills that will enhance their current jobs or provide them with the skills to try a new career.

I am loving Western Civilization.  I have read all my life and tend toward biographies and I have not thought much about early civilization since I took Latin in High School.  And then Latin was only concentrated on early Roman civilization.  We start with the Paleolithic and move quickly on to Neolithic.  Then in quick succession we spend time with the Sumerians and Egyptians.  We spend what seems forever on the Greeks, that is until we get to the Romans who flourished for almost a thousand years.  I am eager to leave the Greeks as I know I would never be able to spell let alone remember the names of the important people in this era. 

I have learned so many interesting facts for instance that when they built the pyramids they were only off by seven inches and the Egyptians always knew the Earth was round and circled the Sun.  Now what will I do with this knowledge except make small talk at cocktail parties.  When I relay this plan to my daughter she reminds me that no one has those kinds of parties any more because of the liability of drunk driving.   Well perhaps dinner table conversation then when other topics lag.

I have survived two tests so far and feel confident the grade will be good.  When I obsess over this aspect of my returning to school, my fun loving daughter reminds me that I am only doing this for the enjoyment and not the grade.  Little does she know. 

If you have not driven past West Shore lately, you are in for a surprise.  The new building and reshaped surrounding terrain are truly a marvel.  Moving day is set for January and the staff and students are eager for this rearrangement of the library to the new building making room for the music department to move closer to the stage area.  West Shore is on the move!