Greetings, my illustrious frirends!
Yes, this is another post stating that "I haven't written in a long time and I plan to get back into it", but there's much for me to say. Like a demotivational poster I found online said,
"Blogging
Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few"
Take it for what's it's worth. My number of emails has gone up since I bought a laptop and it's a good thing. There are times when I feel the lines of communication between me and those who are far away is foggy at best. So, if you're interested in keeping up with some of my challenges, joys, and mundane life occurrences, here's the continuation of my blog.
Sierra College Nevada County Campus:
First of all, I'd just like to say that I appreciate the education I have already and am glad to be back in a formal learning environment. Second of all, I'd like to express my disappointment in the campus 'vibe' at SCNCC. There's this early college high school program called Ghidotti that is based off of the NCC and it gives young students the opportunity to get some college classes done and out of the way while they're still high school age. This is good for them and I'm glad they have that opportunity, but it creates a very high school feel for anyone who actually wants to study like it's college. When you sit in a classroom with 14-17 year old kids it makes you feel almost silly for being there. My accounting class on Tuesday nights is a great contrast to my music appreciation class on Monday and Wednesday mornings because, in accounting, it's all adults who are looking to further there vocational options or peers of mine who are looking to get a degree that requires accounting knowledge. Contrast this with my music appreciation class where more than half of the students are younger than me (and I don't mean 20 or 21) and they've got issues of a lighter nature on their minds. This is fine, but when I walk across campus and 70% of the students I see are younger than 18, it feels like I'm playing college and not actually going to college.
Mind you, I'm not a naive person, in the sense that an education is attained on a personal level and it's not the responsibility of the college to create an environment conducive of higher level learning...or is it?
Although school isn't as grand as I was anticipating, longing, hoping for, it's still a good experience and I'll have my AA (or AS depending on what classes I choose in a year) by spring of 2013.
If only all semesters were setup like summer school semesters. Eight weeks of hit-it-hard, condensed classes that challenge and push me more than listening to opera twice a week.
I love learning and, as previously stated, am grateful for things falling into place where I could attend college once again and should never complain because the experiences I've already had in life surpass the possibilities some have to merely imagine. What I'm trying to say in a long-winded way is that some people don't eat every day. Some people have never been inside of a high school. If I never go to another class in my life, I'll still be glad to have been lectured at no matter how boring I may have thought the material was/is/always will be.
God has blessed me and by not acknowledging that as often as I should have, recently, my mindset towards the gifts freely given me is less appreciative. It's time to turn over a new leaf.
Sierra College NCC is very much like high school. For now, I'll just do it and take what I can from this 'higher level' academic institution.
2 comments:
Your inquiry about the responsibility in education falling on the individual or the institution is a good one my friend. I hear your frustrations and for what it's worth, i encourage your conclusion to make the most of it. What else can you do eh?
The relationship between the institution and the individual is constantly evolving. If you feel like you can't change the situation (amend the institution), then it leaves you only with the option to change yourself. This is not a criticism of your outlook, but maybe you need to revaluate your role in the classroom or campus environment. Do you get to interact with other students, the young and old ones? How do you react when you see behavior that upsets you (the high school mentality of the younger students/taking the opportunity of higher learning for granted)? Perhaps you are charged with a leadership role there, in that it is not your younger peers that will inspire you, but you that must inspire them.
I say this because you are an individual that has had life experiences that they may not even consider possible. These young students trying to get college credit before even going to college probably have their hearts set on going to a four year institution after graduation and falling into the mold that is so common and disheartening for higher education (it has a tendency to nurture and attitude of entitlement and lack of gratitude for the chance to learn). You have a unique perspective on the process and it may be the case that you have all the "currency" to offer them, and they relatively little to offer you.
maybe this is too harsh, but take it for what its worth. i love you man and thanks for posting
Matthew,
Your comment is NOT to harsh at all because I've thought about and considered all you have to say. Some of it before you mentioned it and some of it as I read what you have to say. Gratitude is what I have for you, as a friend and a man. Your opinions are always appreciated by this man who is experiencing a junior college. Charged with influence. That's a great way to view it because I know that there are experiences and knowledge in me that can be relayed to others in a beneficial way. I'm grateful for my life and am happy to be where I am. You're right, there's so much that I have done and seen that others may not be able to gleam from my outward approach and appearance. The youth of this world are an essential part of the future. We hold great responsibility in helping mold them into greater beings. Thank you for posting and for the reminder, brother.
Love and miss you...
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