Oh yeah? I'll see you at recess...
I'm going back to school. Okay, so its only for 3 days, but that counts, doesn't it?
A couple of years ago, I took a bit of a financial risk and signed up for a Certificate program in Adult Education. Why was this a risk? Um, well, I was working as an idependent consultant and I hadn't quite figured out how I was going to pay for the whole thing. But since every one seemed to be looking for this piece of paper before they'd even sniff at my resume, I figured I should get off my ass.
For all that I was a lousy student in my school years, I've appreciated education as an adult. I'm a lot more motivated and I find I relate to the experiences better.
One of my secret shames is that I never finished my undergrad. Of course, a liberal arts BA is a nice piece of paper, I don't think it would have advanced my career any. I'm a lot more proud of my college diploma.
The group that I did my Cert program was pretty cohesive. We had a mixed bag of people and a pretty wide range of experiences...even the facilitators said that we were the most tightly-knit groups they had seen. I was absolutely pumped about being back in a learning environment, particularly one that had a direct bearing on my career (for a change). So I have a dream now to pursue a Masters' degree in some Education field and I've even found one who doesn't care that I don't have the undergrad. Of course, how I'll come up with the $20K to pay for it, I'm not sure. But I've been down that road before, now, haven't I??
So, I'm pretty jazzed about getting back for this course. Its run at the same University faculty and Its a new module for the certificate program focused on e-learning. A couple of the people from my old group will be there, so I'm looking forward to seeing them. I've even met the facilitator through one of my old business contacts a couple of years ago...again, this bodes well.
Even though I'm probably more experienced than some of the participants with respect to e-learning, I'm still hoping to learn some new things.
Besides, its 3 days away from the zoo. As dtrini will tell you, that's never a bad thing. *grin*
3 comments:
That's never a bad thing, to be away from the zoo for any length of time. The more you can arrange, the better for your sanity.
Good on you MS for continuing your education. Adults often forget that we never stop learning (and really should not otherwise that may result in a promotion to management). I hope to get into that gear in the next couple of years. I just need to deal with some more pressing life items first.
By the way, how do you tell the difference between a zoo and a schoolyard? I don't know either because they often look the same; territorial issues, cattiness, someone waiting to eat you if you are not careful, lots of talking about you at the watering hole. :)
I agree, dtrini. I've seen/heard what goes in my children's schoolyard and believe me, I'm very glad that I don't have to be there anymore.
College & University can be just as bad. THAT I remember.
I've been struggling with the issues of my own education for a while now. I barely emerged from my Bachelor's, and took off as far and as hard as I could from academia after the horror that it was -- but in the last few years I've found myself missing academia... But what would I do a Master's in? Who would take me with a B-? How would I manage it and keep my current lifestyle?
The "zoo" has made noises about paying for an MBA and other master's-level courses that are applicable to the work environment, but where in hell do I find that kind of program -- and again, where do I find the time and money?
If you find any answers before I do, let me know.
And in other news, Chicago is very educational -- so maybe this does tie in after all.
Post a Comment