In January I returned to the
classroom as a student for the first consequential time since 1970. I had taken a few non-credit courses,
but hadn’t paid for classes that would qualify me for something if and only if
I succeeded. (In fact, I had had an almost complete free ride through scholarships in my first education. I'll pay nearly twenty times more for this program than my parents or I did for all my prior schooling.)
Specifically, I enrolled at the
McCormack School for Policy and International Studies of the University of
Massachusetts, Boston, to obtain certification in Mediation and Conflict
Resolution. That meant applying for
admission, selecting a mix of required and optional courses, and beginning
classes with attendance, participation, and assessment standards. Eight short papers and two long,
a team project, plus grades for classroom participation and points off for
absences.
How’s it going? Not bad at all, but…
The biggest challenge comes not
from the classes, but from being part of a large metropolitan university in the
twenty-first century. UMass is a
pile of interconnected buildings, linked by a second-story catwalk. If you walk that catwalk from the near
end to the far, you’ve traveled over a third of a mile; if you visit all the
side passages to different buildings, it’s easily a mile round trip. Most buildings have multiple branching
corridors off central lobbies, and room designations like Science S-02-0125. So I got extra-good workouts getting
lost the first few days, and still can burn plenty of calories by “mall
walking” before and after class.
Then there’s the cyber
university. In order to register
and receive communications, you need to log into three different systems: one
for classes and business matters, a second for e-mail, and a third for
assignments and grades. These do
not all have the same password, naturally. Then there are the assignments, which require you to set up
a Dropbox account. And finally, to
submit papers, some professors prefer google docs. It only took me three weeks or so to navigate the virtual
campus, and I still worry that my papers have been transported from my desk,
but as happened occasionally on Star Trek, have not landed on the intended
planet.
As one who had literally never
taken a class in a public institution in my life (Catholic elementary and
secondary schools, Boston College, Harvard Grad and Divinity Schools, Episcopal
Theological, Boston University and Harvard Law), I wasn’t entirely sure what to
expect. But the faculty are
excellent and responsive, class size in the low twenties, assignments rigorous
but not overwhelming (40 to 80 pages a week), and discussions lively and
engaging. Each night I arrive ate
6:00, and am usually surprised when we knock off at 8:30.
My classmates range from
professionals at or near my own age to new graduate students young enough to be
my grandchildren. The group is
more diverse than any I have ever studied with, and we all seem to get along
very well. Both teachers have set
up a roster for providing snacks at break, which helps in a program where
everyone dashes in after work and rushes home each night.
Best of all, I find that fifty-plus
years of prior education and life experience actually are helping me put it all
in context. Often I find myself
wishing I had known some of these approaches when dealing with parents,
colleagues, and employees during my years in education, but the writing
assignments in particular are a pleasure because they allow scope for bringing
personal and other experiences into the discussion. Best of all, I have the
time to delve deeply, using the internet, my past reading, and my recollections
to push beyond the minimum.
My conclusion? School age is every age, and “life-long
learning” is much more than a trite phrase. Just find a young person to help you through the mazes of
the virtual and the actual school.
