EDUCATION: The Unlisted Courses

This is going to sound like a real suck-up post, but it isn’t meant that way. With the opening of the semester I just thought it timely to write about the finer side of education after I’ve complained about the bureaucracy of the system previously. And the bureaucracy is as real on campuses as it is in the real world of government and corporate workplaces, so maybe in a way it’s educational in itself as a preparatory course. This may need to be looked into as a study by the Silver Lining Club.

Maybe it’s just the smaller institutions, or public ones, but it seems that while the staff may not always seem happy and helpful—sometimes bordering on the DMV attitude—the teachers have been nothing but top notch. (See Note #1)

I’m facing History and Spanish classes this semester, both with professors I’ve had before and have enjoyed their classes because of their enthusiasm and willingness to help, push, pull, compliment and correct. One thing I’ve found at a small community college is that special sense of teacher dedication and 100% effort put forth to really help students to learn; to practically stand on their heads and sing a song to accommodate a student who’s almost, but not quite, getting it. The only thing they aren’t willing to stretch themselves out to is obvious student lack of interest. That’s demeaning to their profession, and I understand where they’ll draw the line.

Sometimes you’ll be fortunate enough to have instructors who don’t stop at the borders drawn by the classroom, the semester, or the constrictions of time and place. Sometimes you’ll be lucky enough, as I have been, to have professors who are so interested in what they are teaching that the door is left a little ajar long after the final grades have been submitted. Without showing favoritism within classrooms, these instructors are able to pick out those students with whom they are connecting, those whose interests lie squarely set within that field of study, and whose fire, once lit, is going to become an eternal flame rather than the campfire of required credit. (See Note #2)

There are many people we meet along the way as we pass through life, but some will be long-remembered and some will be forgotten. I went back to college to gain a piece of paper that I felt would be necessary if I wanted to change direction in life, or if I wanted to seriously pursue a writing career. Somewhere along the way I forgot that the diploma was the goal, and found the meaning within the classrooms. This, because in almost every case, people who were up there teaching were people I’d come to respect. Not only could I learn from them, their feedback as to what I was accomplishing in the classroom was essential in validating my own opinion of my skills. An English professor—a good, honest one—will tell you where your talents, if any, lie, and will help you to achieve the skill in the areas where you may be floundering. I’ve had the same professor in three out of four English courses, and he’s still been willing to help me—and others—on the path to writing.

These are the hidden courses in the curriculum; the fields of study and learning that aren’t listed in the program guide, but if one is open to the extracurricular learning about people and the world, it’s there for you.

NOTE #1: Please forgive the generalization of Educational Facility Staff as not happy or helpful. As with anything, it’s not true everywhere nor of everyone. And, it’s no worse than most office workplaces these days. Maybe it’s more apparent to me because I really would LOVE to work in the educational atmosphere, and can’t understand why so many who do aren’t smiling more. But then, they DO work there and I’m sure they know a whole lot more about its reality than I do!

NOTE #2: Oddly enough, in bloghopping this morning I came across a blog by a young woman who was complaining about her English professor, and came close to hinting of sexual harassment that from what she posted, I just couldn’t see it as such. This sexual harassment seemed to come merely from his glowing reviews of her writing. I’ve bookmarked the site and will check into it a bit more, but I feel it’s a case of misunderstanding or possibly poor teaching methods, but certainly not one of harassment.