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Toughest thing I've done in a while.

Ash

Ash

Joined
Feb 19, 2000
Messages
168
Going back to study.

Started at University this week, its been about 7 years since I last did any kind of academic work (and about 10 years since I dropped out of Uni last time I tried :p )

Bachelor of Arts majoring in History/Biological Anthropology rounded out with minors in Philosophy & Archeology (in which I intend to prove Indiana Jones should have carried an M-43 Khuk rather than a whip :D )

Once thats done, in about 6 years, a Diploma of Education & time for a career change to become a teacher.

Lots of discipline required, I'm not a natural student & working full-time makes things that much more intersting.

Books are calling me - Rome, 100BC to 100AD is the topic at the moment.
 
Good luck ash!
I am about to finish the second exam to become a history and german teacher. I teach not that much towards the end now (16 lessons per week) but all the exams (next tuesday 4 hours psychology exam...) and visitations get on my nerves. I have about a 70 hour-week with planning the lessons (every lesson for the first time) and corrections (I teach 11th grade German litterature and these 30 teens write really long essays). It (5 years at the University and 2 years as "Referendar") will be done at the end of June - and I will be glad... :)
Lots of respect for you, starting such a thing as a "newcomer" is really tough. Have some fun with the ancient Rome, ancient history is my favourite (but a bit later, I am the specialist for the migration period and the reigns from Diocletianus until Iustinianus)(The periodization 100 bc - 100 ad seems strange to me no significant changes to start or end in these years - but a bit of everything...)

...books are calling me too (motivation and behaviour at the moment)
again much luck, strengh and congratulations!

Andreas
 
OK Ash, for a start, you can start reading Edward Gibbons' Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - all six volumes. That should put you in a proper frame of mind for that history course!

Good luck. Studying is always good. Lifelong process. Never stop learning. Not many are chosen to be teachers. Be glad.
 
I tried college the first time right after high school, failed everything because I moved away just before the semester ended to another city in another state ONLY because I wanted to study martial arts there. I worked a full time job and trained a lot, a few years later I went back for 1 1/2 years. Then I dropped out again, lived in Nature for a few years, tepee, tent, shelter, whatever it took so I could be close to Mother Earth and study w/ Native American medicine people.

Many adventures after, when I was 27 I decided to go back and try it again (I realized that you can make fires, build shelters, purify water, be spiritually connected but you still missed something from lack of human association w/ society, that and you can't barter flintknapping for food w/ restaurants). I stuck it out and finished my undergrad before I reached 29. Then, couldn't find a good job, met my soulmate (and married her) and realized that if we were gonna have kids, they would need clothes so I went to grad school, finished a MBA. I still couldn't get a good job, so after working for peanuts at a bank for 2 years I got hired on somewhere decent and have been doing accounting coursework for the past 2 years in accounting. I'm working on a 2nd masters degree in accounting/taxation now, after that I call it quits.

I have two children and a wife to take care of, and I never want them to be without a home, good food, or clothes. Within my lifetime, I have experienced the lack of all three at some time or another. My kids are my motivation.

What I have found works for me, when I start to fizzle, is a sort of buddhist approach. I take a breath and dedicate what I do for other people. I tell myself that what I am doing will benefit not just my family, but other people in society that I can help if I keep spiritually balanced and on my path.

I also realized that if you study a lot, make sure you exercise, it will help your mind.

The funny thing about it all is, when all is said and done, in another 20 years when my newborn is all grown up, and I can get close to retirement, I will probably do the same thing I did in my 20's, spend time in Nature and look for elders like Yvsa to talk to.

David
 
I went back to college at age 40 (special student in grad school if you can figure that out) during my midlife crisis and the major thing I learned was that I was not 20 anymore.
 
Good luck and Best wishes Ash!!!!

Not the same as going back to college, but really tough for me.........
I went for my GED when I was 54 and hadn't studied since I dropped out of high school as a junior in the 11th grade where I was taking 10th grade English again and had a "D" average in everything else.
We were told that if we didn't qualify for state aid that we would need a 60 point grade to earn a 2 year scholarship at our local Jr.College.
I went for the gold and scored 66.20, won the scholarship even though I didn't take advantage of it.
The Adult Education Staff here in Tulsa all got together and elected me to the National Adult Education Honor Society.
Only about 3%-4% of Adult Education Students are elected for this honor!!!!
The GED classes aren't for wimps and the course dayumed sure isn't "A Gimme!!!!"
All this from an old ndn that was told he would never amount to nothing when I was a kid.
Too bad I tried to prove everyone right for so long.:grumpy:

I'm still pretty dayumed proud of my accomplishment.:)
 
"I'm still pretty dayumed proud of my accomplishment."

And well you should be.

My mother got her BS degree when she was 69 and was the oldest graduating college student in the US that year.
 
Congrats Ash--way to go!!!

I'm also 90%-95% sure I'm going back to school for my masters in Biology this fall or at least in Spring semester.

What I have found works for me, when I start to fizzle, is a sort of buddhist approach. I take a breath and dedicate what I do for other people. I tell myself that what I am doing will benefit not just my family, but other people in society that I can help if I keep spiritually balanced and on my path
Click to expand...

Sounds like good advice and some that I need to really follow. I am a master at starting things, becoming a fast expert and moving on leaving a string of burned bridges behind....I like your idea MUCH better:)
 
That's a pretty fun period in the end of the classical age. I like Tacitus, he's got this commentary on the corruption of Rome's politics woven into Agricola and Germania. It's almost spooky, for the things he says could be said by anyone whose civilization is on the decline.
Also, good source of info on the indigenous tribal populations of Britain, Ireland, Europe and the Baltic.

Good luck, man, history is even cooler after you've been out fer a while and can do your own directed research. Let us know how you fare!

Keith
 
I got through undergraduate and graduate school with honors using a special system of osmosis.

Here's how it worked:
In class, I would pile my books on my desk, with the book pertaining to the subject at hand on top. Then I would nod out and rest my head on the pile. The knowledge would then seep directly into my head while I was in a receptive state.

If I needed extra study, I would put the books under my butt when I went to the student union for coffee. This worked also, but to a lesser degree. It did, however, give me a better view of my surroundings so I could see where the girls were, and where that sweet smelling smoke was coming from.

I tried to share this secret with my daughter who is currently working on her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology, but she prefers the old fashioned method of study, research, and writing papers.
 
Originally posted by Ben Arown-Awile
I tried to share this secret with my daughter who is currently working on her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology, but she prefers the old fashioned method of study, research, and writing papers.
Click to expand...

Hehehehe, another one with the possibility of being part of today's PC ndn family, ie. A father, mother two kids, several dogs and an anthropologist.:D ;)
 
The thing that sticks with me most is my 18 year old freshman girlfriend (I'm 40) auditing my poety class so "she could be with me" -- holding my hand!!

Mid life crisis? Tell me about it. I swore I'd never succumb until it got me. Shows you how much I really know. I've got all you guys fooled.
 
Is everyone going back to school?? :eek:

Currently I am getting very serious about going back to get an M.Sc. (perhaps Ph.D.) in Geology. This after 8.5 years in the field...

To those of you who did go back as adults: How was it different? Were you better focused?? Was it harder than you thought it was going to be?

Thanks,
Phil
 
Thanks for the words of encouragement everyone.

So far I've found the work more interesting & enjoyable than I had anticapated. Perhaps its that I'm studying to enhance my knowledge with the option of a new career at the end rather than working hell-bent-for-leather to actually get a job, as when I left school.

Thanks to my father (a retired geologist BTW philthygeezer) I love all aspects of history so being able to study it at a higher level than my amature reading is great. I've always been facinated with anthropology, especially evolution & primitive tool making, which just adds to the fun.

I have to say, being 31 & at a Uni with lots of 18 to 25 year old women - well I love Australia in summer :cool:

Iceing on the cake :D
 
11 years from start to finish for me.

I think I liked be a student too much...

Oh yeah...did I mention failing out of 2 schools and having a group of teachers combine efforts and literally campaign and successfully remove me from my major?

For some reason, in HS I sat on the sidelines and kept to myself - but in college, I could make any teacher red in the face...

After being rejected so many times, I decided to find a school that matched my interests and graduated magna cum laude. :rolleyes:

Now I'm teaching part-time in the evenings....just can't get away from it, I guess. :D
 
"To those of you who did go back as adults: How was it different? Were you better focused?? Was it harder than you thought it was going to be?"

Going back to school was sure easier than working for a living.

With the G.I. Bill, food stamps, and a $2.00 an hour work-study job, we lived pretty high on the hog. Had an old VW bus, an extra pair of jeans, three T-shirts, a pair of moccasins AND a pair of boots.

When the G.I. money ran out, I cashed in my college units for degrees. We could still get food stamps and we had the VW bus to live in.

We were living the good life, and about to embark on a Great Adventure and a Spiritual Quest. Things were GOOD.

So to answer your questions directly:
1. Yes. It was different from my previous life as a military professional.
2. No. I was totally unfocused, but could see the "big picture" quite clearly.
3. No. College was the easiest thing I ever did. The most difficult thing I ever did was being a father and raising a family in an average American middle class environment.
 
quote:Originally posted by Ben Arown-Awile
...my daughter who is currently working on her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology...

quote:Originally posted by Yvsa
Hehehehe, another one with the possibility of being part of today's PC ndn family, ie. A father, mother two kids, several dogs and an anthropologist.
 
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