Perhaps the economy is the blame, but I spent all morning in line at my community college bookstore.   This was the first day that books were on sale and everyone was out to get the used (cheaper) books.   I didn’t think for a minute that there would be a crazy long line.   I spent too much time in the morning surfing the net, (looking at all the non traditional student sites….) and went over to campus about 9:30am.   The line to get into the LBCC bookstore snaked around the commons three deep!    I should have just bagged it for the day and shopped online, but I wanted to experience the queue for blogging purposes.   Yes, dear readers, I sacrificed my entire morning just so you would have a feel for what non traditionals are up against. I finally made it into the bookstore after being in line for 2 1/2 hours.   All of my books were available, and I was able to get the majority of them as used books.   My total book bill this term was $128.00……woo hooo!!!    This will be about the cheapest I’ll get away with for the rest of my college experience.

In my community college in Oregon, they have a record number of new students this fall term.   Unemployment in the Albany, Oregon area is up to 16% and I think this is reflective of the increase in college enrollment.   I have not done any research about other areas in the country, but my suspicion is that Oregon is not alone.   The class schedules are full across the catalog.   I was looking to pick up an extra 3 credit class in Research Writing and was amazed at the full classes.   I am on a waiting list for this class.   If I do not get into it, oh well…   I was smart and did my registrations for fall term back in July when they first opened.   I plan on doing some digging to find out how the statistics rack up as far as the number of Non Traditional Students in Linn Benton Community College this term.   I realize that community colleges would have a tendency toward more non trads due to vocational and retraining type curriculums.   Other institutions of higher learning  will have different statistics.   Quick!!……to google and away!!

Now that we are in full swing with Fall Term, it is time for Nontraditional students to start thinking about their goals.   I went through much of my working life over the past 15 years without setting goals for myself.   All of a sudden, now that I’m a Non Traditional Student, I am all about GOALS!  It was kind of culture shock to enter college this late in life, but if not now, when?   I am now driven by different goals; grades, classwork, my degree, money…you name it…    This can be daunting even if you are already goal oriented.   Having the need for personal lifelong goals being thrust upon you all at once…..woooooo baby!   As I discussed in a previous post about College Skills Classes, they are about the best thing a Non Traditional Student can do for their ongoing success in college.   I learned about setting goals the SMART(R) way.   I’ve been exposed to this format years ago when I was a member of the US Jaycees.   Did it get put into use…not so much..  Basically, the concept of a SMART goal falls into this acronym.

S=SPECIFIC    Be specific and clear when you write your goals.   This helps you define exactly what you want    to accomplish.

M= MEASURABLE    Be sure that you set a definite measurement for your goal.   Your goal is measurable when you can document or observe what you accomplish.   This way you can be sure when you have reached it.

A= ATTAINABLE   Set your goal so that it is a challenge for you, but not so high that you get discouraged.   It is important to stretch, but not set yourself up for failure.

R=  REALISTIC    Be sure that you are being realistic.   Use a measurement and a time frame that is possible.

T= TIME BOUND   Set a specific target date for accomplishing your goal.  With a target date, you reduce the possibility of procrastination.   It is usually easier to reach a large goal in steps, so you may want to break up large goals into smaller individual goals.   This also increases your motivation by seeing success as each smaller goal is reached.

AND FINALLY:   R=  REWARD YOURSELF!!   Celebrate your accomplishments.  Plan a reward when you reach your goal.

I may be preaching to the choir here, but I never hurts to see this model over and over again.  Now is the time for all Non Traditional Students to get going on setting  and REACHING LIFELONG GOALS.

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I also have found a program online called Global Domains International.   With this program you can get both a Domain Name and  WEB HOSTING  for $10.00 per month.    This is a super deal.   As a bonus, if you get your friends to sign up for domains, you also earn INCOME ongoing from this.    Check this program out.   I am excited about the deal.   10 bucks is a real great price for a website per month!

Now that most of us are into our first few days of college as non traditional students, it is time to start working on the study skills portion of this blog.  I still have a small bit of summer break left (my classes do not start til 9/28)  and I am getting prepared for Fall Term as well.   One of my favorite blogs about older students returning to college is penned by Marybabysteps at the Never To Late For College blog.   This post link has some great points about note taking.   This is a skill that everyone can benefit from.   There are many styles and models for note taking.  I personally utilize the Cornell Method. It’s a system and a format that builds on what is known as the 5R’s of note taking. Record, Reduce, Recite, Reflect and Review. The format itself I find especially intriguing, the use of a “cue column” seeming really beneficial to those, like me, who tend to go pretty free form with their notes.   The method’s main claim to fame is the study and review enhancements to your note taking.    The note taker divides the paper into two columns: the note-taking column (usually on the right) is twice the size of the key word column (on the left). The student should leave five to six lines, or about two inches, at the bottom of the page. Notes from a lecture or teaching are written in the note-taking column; notes usually consist of the main ideas of the text or lecture, and long ideas are paraphrased. Long sentences are avoided; symbols or abbreviations are used instead. Relevant questions (which should be recorded as soon as possible so that the lecture and questions will be fresh in the student’s mind) or key words are written in the key word column. You then write a summary of the information on that bottom area of the page.

An important concept in the Cornell system is the “five Rs”.     I learned them as they relate to Cornell, however, these concepts are essential to any system you use to take notes;

1. Record. During the lecture, as many meaningful facts as possible are recorded.

2. Reduce. As soon after class as possible, ideas and facts are concisely summarized in the Recall Column. Summarizing clarifies meanings and relationships, reinforces continuity, and strengthens memory.

3. Recite. Most of the page is covered and the student tries to recall as much of the lecture as possible, using only what has been written in the Recall Column. This procedure helps to transfer the facts and ideas to the long term memory.

4. Reflect. The student’s own opinion is distilled from the notes. This also has the effect of training the mind to find and categorize vital information, leading to more efficient memorization.

5. Review. The student reviews the notes briefly but regularly. Because of the highly condensed nature of the notes, the student remembers a significant amount of material.

The concepts of Cornell notes can be modified to suit  your needs for every type of class.   For example, when I took notes for Math 060, I still utilized the two column format, but my notes were more specific for each point (algebraic formulas…etc.).    Where my History 203 notes were not as specific and focused on the concepts and facts of a time period studied.    The end result in using the notes as a study guide were the same.    I needed to focus on highly detailed specifics and “how to” points for Math, and by using the concepts of the 5 Rs I was able to organize my study time better.     This system takes some getting used to, and some discipline to keep up with, but in the long run, you will benefit greatly.    I found a great .PDF file online about the Cornell System.   The format of your note pages is illustrated here.

The key concept here is:  NOTE TAKING SKILLS ARE IMPORTANT!   Develop a system that works for you, everyone learns differently.   Take a College Study Skills class if your institution offers one, it will be a great investment in your Non Traditional Student Journey!!

A tribute to those we lost on 9/11.   It is hard to believe that it was 8 years ago today.

I stumbled upon one of the most wonderful history blogs the other day.  WW1 Experiences of an English Soldier Being a history major, specializing in the Great War, I was drawn to this “real time” account of Private Harry Lamin from England.   This blog is written by Harry’s grandson and is taken from his letters home about his experiences in the trenches of WW1.   The blog has been around for a couple of years.  The letters home are very descriptive of his life as a British soldier.   The blogger printed the letters exactly 90 years after they were written on the actual days of the letters.   You follow Harry from his training through his wartime experiences on the western front.   I have been catching up on them as I got into this blog late.   Harry has quite a following out there in Internet Land.   People wait with bated breath for each new post as the letters home “arrive”.   This blog is very popular and has made the national news in England.   Harry Lamin was born in 1887 in the midlands of England and in 1917 at the age of 29 he joined up to fight in the Great War.   His letters home were mainly to his brother and sister.   They are reprinted just as they were received, grammar errors and all.   The blogger does give some context information to help with historical matters.    I have been enjoying reading these accounts and highly recommend this blog even if you are not a student of history. Harry even has a Facebook page of his own!!   The great-grand daughter of Harry has posted a page to follow on Facebook.   Harry is one of my Facebook friends!   Through this blog, the man’s life in the trenches of WW1 becomes real time, 90 years after the fact.   I feel this is one of the greatest ideas for a blog about WW1 I have found on the Internet.   The letters have also been published into a book that was available on Amazon a couple of years ago as well.    I have a communication with “Harry” to see if the book is still available.   I will update this post with more info as it becomes available.

Maybe I’m just a “History Geek”, but I felt compelled to post about this wonderful blog.   I will continue to follow Harry’s experiences and keep you all updated as I catch up with him.   Study of the History of WW1 is becoming more popular and I have found a great many wonderful websites available.