Reaching Lifelong Goals

One of my favorite and most useful classes this term is Research Writing WR123.   Not only will this class serve me well for the rest of my college career, but my instructor is a fellow Non Traditional Student (well, ex-non trad, I guess…)    We have been discussing my topic for my term long research paper about the Non Traditional Student Phenomenon.   Instructor April produced a Non Trad story of her own that I felt compelled to share with the Non Trad Blog world.  Take a few minutes and read the story about one of our fellow Non Traditional Students  who now is both a teacher and an example to us all.   Perhaps it should begin…”Hi, I’m April and I’m a recovering Non Trad”

Note:  WOU is Western Oregon University, Monmouth, Oregon

“A Back-to-School Story”
After having pushed me for years to go back to college, my Taekwondo instructor Master Tesdal
was thrilled when I told him that I had enrolled at Western Oregon University.
I was horrified.
My marriage of twenty years had collapsed in on itself like a sand castle melting in the rain, and
I had no marketable skills, no job, no income. I had been barely more than a housewife since
high school. My sister laid my choices in front of me: get a job at McDonald’s, or go back to
school. “Once you start trying to support yourself with a minimum wage job, you’ll never have
time to even think about building a better life,” she said. And I knew she was right. She showed
me how to fill out a FAFSA online, and I started looking for colleges that weren’t too far from
my children, who had no desire to leave their school district.
I’d tried college once, straight out of high school. I hated it. I suffered serious culture shock
going from the small town, under-the-microscope life I was raised in to life in the big city.
Portland State University seemed like an alien planet. One day, I stood beside a man in a
wheelchair for several minutes waiting for an elevator. People began to gather behind us.
Abruptly, the doors opened, and we found ourselves shoved out of the way as hordes pushed past
us and the doors closed in our faces. I looked down at the man beside me thinking, “I can take
the stairs, but what’s he supposed to do?” I couldn’t believe how self-focused people were.
Another problem I had was that in my efforts to find places to study alone, I drew lurking
perverts. I remember one man shouting after me in a broken hearted voice as I fled for the bus
stop, “I’m sorry!” Many people thrive in the big city– I did not. I was glad to drop out after only
two years. For the following eighteen years, I played housewife, raised two kids, sewed, drew,
painted, wrote books, started Taekwondo; I filled my life with things that would keep me from
thinking about the fact that I was hiding from the world.
Now I was rearranging my life. There were no schools within driving distance for a day trip, so I
had to surrender that idea. I went with my second criteria: that the campus be small and friendly.
I chose WOU. From the first time I walked onto the campus, I knew it felt right. People smiled at
me, said hello, and held doors for each other. The next step was finding somewhere to live. A
loan from my mother made it possible for me to rent my first apartment until financial aid kicked
in. I left my children, aged 18 and 14 at the time, my dog, my home, and nearly all my
belongings, and I moved to Rickreall. As I prepared to become a college student again, I kept up
with Taekwondo. It was my anchor.
Grandmaster Kim, the head of our Taekwondo schools, has a favorite ritual in which he reminds
everyone at promotion tests and tournaments of the value of a good education. Any student
enrolled in school from kindergarten through college with a 3.0 grade point average or higher
receives a certificate of achievement. To underscore how important it is to achieve the highest
possible grades, Grandmaster Kim orders, “All students stand up,” and everyone who is an
enrolled student, no matter what age, must stand up and face him. When he called out the order,
my instructor Master Tesdal knew that I was registered at WOU and practically shoved me to my

feet. Reluctantly I stood up, face flaming, to join the grade school kids around me. “Repeat after
me,” Master Kim intoned, “I will do my best to get straight A’s.” I rolled my eyes, horrified, and
repeated the words in a mumble. The kids beside me seemed just as embarrassed, and we all sat
down with relief.
I was 38. Far, far too old (I thought) to hope for more than passing grades at college. My brain
had lost too many cells over the years, and it had just been too many decades since I had done
any formal study. I didn’t believe in the oath I gave Grandmaster Kim, but I decided to at least
try.
The first day of class, I drove onto campus shaking with nerves. A song came on the radio: “In a
little while” by Uncle Kraker. I can’t explain it, but it felt like a message. Some of the lyrics go,
“Sometimes I feel like something is gone here/ Something is wrong here/ I don’t belong here,”
but then the tone turns, and the song becomes very upbeat. I tried to relax. But to add to my
discomfort, I noticed right away that most of the students in my classes looked no older than
eighteen. In fact, I found out later that WOU has one of the youngest student bodies in the state:
more than 75% of it’s students are under the age of 25. I was old enough to be the mother of most
of my classmates.
I ignored these doubts and pushed myself to focus on my classes. Noticing that most of the other
students often reacted to a teacher’s question with painful, wide-eyed silence, I made a conscious
decision to take advantage of my advanced age and began raising my hand more often. Often, the
younger students would begin to relax when they saw me interacting with the teacher without too
much humiliation, and they began participating as well. The professors were often my age
(sometimes younger), and I found it easy to talk to them.
When I checked grades at the end of the first term, my hands were shaking, and I felt nauseous.
To my shock, I had straight A’s. It pays to have a passion for your classes, apparently. I realized
then that I could never have appreciated college when I was younger: I just wasn’t ready
emotionally at that time. But I was ready now. I loved my classes, loved being there, loved
hauling gear in a backpack and being part of the ebb and flow of university life. I loved being a
student and actually enjoyed studying. I started seeing A’s as goals to be fought for.
Going back to school, living on my own for the first time… these are not all memories I cherish,
and it was not the best of times– I was alone and missed my family. But I don’t regret my choice.
For the first time in my life, I am following the path I was meant to. I have a career. Years ago
when my marriage ended, no one wanted to hire me; I had no useful skills. It feels unbelievably
good to be wanted, to do an interview and be asked immediately to sign on. And I’m so grateful
for the teachers who pushed me to join the world and discover my potential.
As I drove off WOU’s campus for the last time, a college graduate, that same song came on the
radio that had played as I drove onto campus that first day: “Some things are lost, some left
behind/ Some things are better left for someone else to find…” When one door closes… the future
comes knocking.

History, history, history.   It seems that I have tended to point all of my latest assigned papers toward my love of all things historical.   Being a Non Traditional Student majoring in History, it just seems natural to me.   I will be spending the better part of this weekend writing a paper for my ENG 201 Shakespeare – early works class.   I posted about this a while back in Groundlings and Penny Stinkards discussing an off hand comment made by my Professor about some bones they found in the Tower of London.   Little did I know at the time, but that history tidbit he gave me sent me on a wonderful Historical research journey.   This has been happening to me a lot lately, I’ve been going off on these research voyages related to all of my classes except for Math (wonder why that is???).    Learning about all things historical has been a part of my make up since I was a child.   Now that I’m a Non Traditional Student, this little “quirk” in my make up has taken on a whole new meaning to me.   While researching this paper on Richard III and the skeletons of the “two princes” I surfed into a wonderful website and a new “history friend” on the internet: Tudor Stuff,  Tudor History From the Heart of England.    This blog is written by  Andrew Walsh and Victoria Taylor.   I found great information there,  not directly related to my subject of this paper, but a window into the period of time I am focusing on.   As usual, I was playing around with their links FROM this blog and found a Facebook Page for history geeks like myself about Tudor times in England.   And guess what I found on this Facebook Group, a post about my exact topic of this paper, Richard III and the Two Princes in the Tower.    I have been off on these little history voyages more and more since I have committed to my History Major.    Another area of research I have undertaken with this paper has been modern Forensic Archeology and what we could learn today if the Princes’ remains could be studied.    It opened up a whole new area for me to learn about.    No, I don’t plan to change my Major in mid stream, I have “lifelong goals to reach”.    I guess the main point of this post is, no matter what your personal goals are as a Non Traditional Student, it is important to remain focused on the “prize” down the road.   But, if your journey down that road has  a Tudor Rose growing by it’s side give yourself permission to stop and give it a sniff or two.

One of the biggest study skills that a Non Traditional Student can master is TIME MANAGEMENT! As I sit here posting a blog entry, thinking about all the reading I have to do for ENG 201, HST 201 and my research paper on Non Trads in my WR123 class, I am reminded of what my father used to say to me all the time….”don’t do as I do, DO AS I SAY!”    Oh, I forgot to add that I need to study for my first MTH 065 module test as well.   The generally accepted ratio for study time is 2 hours of homework for every 1 hour of class time.   Like many Non Traditional Students, I look at this ratio and figure…if each day only had an extra 8 hours in it, I would be able to keep up!!    Actually, there is a plan that every non trad should consider.   Setting up a realistic hour by hour grid system with all of your needed activities for a day listed.  Plan the work and work the plan!   I find that I have more time in a day for study/hobbies/blogging etc, than it looks like on the surface.   By really breaking down your day into manageable blocks of assigned activities, you can utilize your waking hours more efficiently.   I went through this process for my first term back in school in my Study Skills Class (CG111).   I am embarrassed to say, I have not followed up with this activity during  Summer and Fall terms.   (again, see above axiom…).   The typical Non Traditional Student needs to balance many facets of their day.    I am in awe of some of my fellow non trad classmates who hold down jobs, deal with family matters, kids and carry a full load of classes.   This is what makes Non Traditional Students such a dynamic demographic in colleges today.   We need to keep our heads above water and find time to study.   I am researching a paper for my writing class that explores this very subject.   I am a wimpy example of a busy non trad, as all I have on my plate is going to school and  home to study.    No kids, no job, an understanding wife.   So I can expect little sympathy.   I had better start practicing what I preach….   Oh, did I mention that I have to prepare a power point presentation about Oliver Cromwell and the English Civil Wars for History class on Thursday…   Don’t let your classes get away from you, keep on task.   Fellow Non Traditional Students are looking for you to be their example!

Non Traditional College Students are a unique bunch.   There are more and more of us at colleges all around the USA.  What I find troubling is that the great resource sites on the Internet are not reaching the majority of the Non Trads out there.  I am tuned into this niche on the WWW and I am constantly finding great new resources and sites specifically for the Non Traditional Student.   I think we need to make it our personal quest to get the word out to as many older students as we can.   Non Traditional Students need to know they are not alone.   A student may feel that no one knows their situation with going back to school.   I am here to tell them, there is a whole world of Non Traditional Student websites out there for their support.   Over the next couple of weeks, I plan to develop a page here on the Reaching Lifelong Goals site with as many links as possible.   Sure, all of the great Non Trad sites out there have their links pages, but web statistics show that we are not reaching the majority of our fellow Non Trads.   With the ever growing demographic of older individuals returning to college in this economy, there needs to be greater effort put forth to “bring them into the fold” here online.    Today, I found another great forum for Non Traditional Students.   Returning To School – Adults Returning to College/University, a forum put together by Cynthia from Portland State U. is worth joining.   This forum is for all returning students and has a great format, fun to use and NEEDS MORE MEMBERS!    We all know at least a few fellow Non Trads that we can ask to get involved with this forum.   Right now, I see 19 members from around the country and England as well.   This forum as well as The Nontraditional Student Forum are a perfect place for fellow Non Trads to talk about their goals, successes and challenges.   Elizabeth from Kentucky has a great website and this fantastic forum available for Non Traditional Students.   Both of these forums are great places for fellow Non Trads to network and gain like minded friends forever.    Let’s get the word out in every way we can.   Our fellow Non Traditional Students need these resources!

While reviewing some of my materials from my College Skills Class, I ran into a great description of how we FORGET information.   This ties right into my post about Highlighting Notes and Textbooks.   Review of studied materials is essential to actually learning it.  The following five theories of forgetting are offered by psychologists to explain some of the reasons information can be “forgotten”.  The Decay Theory applies to short term memory.  It is possible that some stimuli, when received, are too weak.   The information simply decays or fades away before it can be sorted or processed.  Since this information is never processed, it was really never “learned”.  The second theory, Displacement Theory, also occurs in the short term memory.  The Displacement Theory states that if TOO MUCH information comes into the short term memory too rapidly, some of the information already in short-term memory is shoved aside, or “displaced”.   Adequate time was not given to process the information that was displaced; therefore, it was never really “learned” either.   The  Interference Theory applies to confusion that take’s place in long-term memory.   One type of confusion occurs when the new information you are learning interferes with your recalling or retrieving information that was previously learned.   For example, if you once knew how to speak Portuguese, but are now studying Spanish, words that you once knew in Portuguese may be difficult to locate in memory because your newly acquired language skills in Spanish are interfering.  This type of forgetting occurs when old information interferes with learning new information.  The old information is so thoroughly imprinted that it is recalled or retrieved instead of the new information you are trying to learn.  The  Incomplete Encoding Theory applies to information as it is rehearsed.   Some information is only partially learned or learned inaccurately.   When a person tries to recall this information, “forgetting” occurs.  The information cannot be remembered because it was not completely processed or imprinted in the memory system.   The Retrieval Failure Theory occurs when information has been learned, but cannot be “found” in the memory “bank”.   Failure to locate information in memory may be attributed to a weak organizational system for storing or “filing” information or to lack of use.  The information learned was not firmly attached or associated to well developed schemas (“file folders in your memory bank”) or ongoing review to practice accessing the information did not occur.    We see here that information can be “forgotten” during several different stages of the process of learning information.  Effective strategies for taking in information and processing, storing and rehearsing it can reduce or eliminate the effects of these five theories of forgetting.