An Old Dog CAN Learn New Tricks!
My best friend Paris
It took me 21 years after finishing my bachelor’s degree to finally decide on a career plan. My employment history had been very rewarding but I always felt I hadn’t found my niche. However, when I began working as a program coordinator in a continuing education office at Macomb Community College, I began to conceive of the possibility of creating a long-term commitment to education and knew I would need to obtain a graduate degree in order to advance in my new career.
So, in September 2008 I applied to MSU’s MAED program. My goals at that point were two-fold: to earn the degree so I could advance into an administrative position and to use the time in school to study issues relating to older adult students in order to eventually affect educational policy. I chose to pursue the P-K School and Post-secondary Leadership Concentration in order to meet these goals.
As I wrap up this last course in my program, I believe these goals are still relevant. I do need the advanced degree in order to apply for administrative positions and while I still have much to learn, I found some of my course work allowed me to explore the relevancy of the theories and ideas of the curriculum to the older student perspective. I’ve found though, that not much of the MAED curriculum explores the older student phenomenon that is surfacing due to the job losses of the economic downturn, the postponement of retirement due to stock market performance and the looming age wave of baby boomers who are exploring new ways education can give them new purpose. Community Colleges are the primary destination for these students and I frequently use my knowledge and experience in this area to assist students in their transition.
Intellectually, I’ve benefited greatly from this learning experience. Not having trained as a teacher I began the program a bit intimidated by studying at the master’s level in a discipline in which I was only marginally experienced. However, my confidence in my abilities has grown tremendously and I’m extremely proud of my 4.0 GPA. I do wish I had found my niche earlier as the more I learned about education over the past 18 months the more I realize there is so much more I need and want to learn! I have so much more respect for teachers and have developed a more critical perspective of the educational system in America. I believe if I knew then what I know now, and had the technological tools of today, I may have chosen to home school my children. Not that I believe the public schools are inherently bad, I just believe my children would have benefited from the flexibility home schooling can offer learners.
Lastly, I feel really good about the decision to pursue this graduate program and believe it has been a wise investment of my time and effort and well worth the sacrifice of time away from other pleasurable pursuits with family and friends. The flexibility of the online learning environment was a perfect fit for me and I would highly recommend this program to my colleagues. Since starting the program, my daughter enrolled in college, my husband began a new career, I adopted a new puppy, and I became a grandmother. I can’t wait to see what new adventures are in my future!
So, in September 2008 I applied to MSU’s MAED program. My goals at that point were two-fold: to earn the degree so I could advance into an administrative position and to use the time in school to study issues relating to older adult students in order to eventually affect educational policy. I chose to pursue the P-K School and Post-secondary Leadership Concentration in order to meet these goals.
As I wrap up this last course in my program, I believe these goals are still relevant. I do need the advanced degree in order to apply for administrative positions and while I still have much to learn, I found some of my course work allowed me to explore the relevancy of the theories and ideas of the curriculum to the older student perspective. I’ve found though, that not much of the MAED curriculum explores the older student phenomenon that is surfacing due to the job losses of the economic downturn, the postponement of retirement due to stock market performance and the looming age wave of baby boomers who are exploring new ways education can give them new purpose. Community Colleges are the primary destination for these students and I frequently use my knowledge and experience in this area to assist students in their transition.
Intellectually, I’ve benefited greatly from this learning experience. Not having trained as a teacher I began the program a bit intimidated by studying at the master’s level in a discipline in which I was only marginally experienced. However, my confidence in my abilities has grown tremendously and I’m extremely proud of my 4.0 GPA. I do wish I had found my niche earlier as the more I learned about education over the past 18 months the more I realize there is so much more I need and want to learn! I have so much more respect for teachers and have developed a more critical perspective of the educational system in America. I believe if I knew then what I know now, and had the technological tools of today, I may have chosen to home school my children. Not that I believe the public schools are inherently bad, I just believe my children would have benefited from the flexibility home schooling can offer learners.
Lastly, I feel really good about the decision to pursue this graduate program and believe it has been a wise investment of my time and effort and well worth the sacrifice of time away from other pleasurable pursuits with family and friends. The flexibility of the online learning environment was a perfect fit for me and I would highly recommend this program to my colleagues. Since starting the program, my daughter enrolled in college, my husband began a new career, I adopted a new puppy, and I became a grandmother. I can’t wait to see what new adventures are in my future!