I never EVER liked school. EVER. Period.
I hated that these grownups would stand in front of me and tell me to memorize this information, and if I spelled a word wrong I had to write it out ten times. How is this learning? It wasn’t. It was memorization at its finest, just using enough of my brain power to remember the information to get me through the exams and then I was free to forget everything I “learned”. Why should I have learned it anyway? It did not apply to me. How is it that any time in my adult life would I need to know what year Spain traveled to the new world and enslaved the natives? It had nothing to do with anything. It related to me in no way and it didn’t apply to anything else I was learning at the time, so why did I need to know this useless information?
I started really thinking about this recently because of the way I am actually learning now, in my online classes for college.
All of my adult college classes, no matter what the information, actually pertain to me! Can you believe that? In human bio right now, I am learning about my body. More than just how I breathe and my organs and such, but how everything comes together to help me survive day-to-day, mostly without me ever needing to think about it. When was the last time you actually had to think and make a conscious effort to make your heart beat or to breathe in and out? You don’t have to do those because some of your body’s muscles and organs are involuntary. Without that, we wouldn’t be able to sleep or carry on a conversation without thinking about doing everything our body already does for us.
There is also some other information I found fascinating. For example, sweating. Did you know that you can get injections in your face and body to eliminate sweating? Did you also know that sweating is not only your body’s way of cooling you down, but also a way to get toxins out of your body? Could you imagine the nasty gross things that could build up in your body if there were no ways to release it? It’s absolutely fascinating all that I am learning in this class. It makes me want to take better care of myself, and to know how to do that.
I am truly lucky to be a part of Granite State College, a college where you don’t go to memorize things, but a place where you actually go to gain knowledge and become a better person!
At all of our Granite State College campuses, we have recently implemented a new model for serving students on their path to degree completion. We have formed Student Success Teams at each of our campuses. I am very excited about this because it provides students with even more support than they have previously enjoyed.
At the Conway NH college campus where I work, everyone is coming together to support our learners. We have so many new options to make college learning easier! We are offering a series of workshops, including writing and math labs, workshops on time management, organization....lots of different kinds of information to help students be more successful. These workshops are offered in a small group format, which allows us to support more students while fostering networking and relationship building.
Another exciting direction we are moving in is offering Career Advancement Services. We have always offered one-on-one career counseling, but we are expanding our programs and will soon have more to offer to students who need extensive career and life planning.
We are very unique amongst colleges with online classes in that we offer so many different kinds of learning supports. We have online 24/7 tutoring, "Smart Thinking" and online students who have access to one of our GSC Campuses, are also able to attend the live workshops.
Another exciting tool we offer is a degree auditing system called CAPP. Its available online, 24/7 and helps learners track their path toward an adult education diploma. CAPP shows students where transfer credits fit in, display grades and gpa information, and allows students to do a "What If" analysis that shows where their credits would fit in if they switch majors.
If you have a suggestion for workshops you would like to see to support your learning, please email me your suggestions at
jan.hodges@granite.edu.
Every year at about this time teachers begin to think of the end of the school year. One more month, one more week, 4 more days and counting. Why do teachers feel that way? Probably because they are tired. Children have so many needs to be met and teachers are expected to meet them.
Years ago teachers taught reading, writing and math. Now teachers teach all those things but add on social development, nutrition, stranger safety, anti-bullying and on and on it goes. Try to get all that in to 6 hours a day and teachers are exhausted after 180 days.
So is there a way to help teachers? How about taking courses to energize your career? Have you thought about a online courses for adults that you could take while hanging out in your yard? Check out the offerings at Granite State College for online classes. You might just find a course to help you with all those extras you need to teach. Try the behavioral science classes, or maybe just a good science or history course for the fun of it.
If you are saying, "I am so tired of teaching." Don't give up. Check out Granite State College and plan on treating yourself to an online boost to your career.
A new book coming out, called
Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong, by Alina Tugend, looks very interesting. An article about it in
The New York Times describes how making mistakes might be "psychologically healthy."
Teaching psychology classes at
Granite State College makes my ears always perk up when I even hear the word "psychology." (There's a similar effect that describes how we are likely to hear our own name, even when in a noisy crowd and no one else heard it. It's called "the cocktail party effect." Social psychology has a million of those cool ideas!)
So back to Tugend's book. She points out that the important difference for those with perfectionist tendencies between a psychologically healthy perfectionism and an unhealthy one is whether those tendencies "rule - or ruin - their lives." An example she gives is a person she describes who likes all the glasses in his cupboard lined up in a certain way. If anyone puts them in a different order, he doesn't freak out. And he doesn't expect to be perfect in
everything he does.
I see tendencies like this in my adult students sometimes. Students in my adult online classes have to write papers, and when I carefully correct any errors, I sometimes get an anguished response that they "can't believe they made that mistake." I try to remind them that that's what being a student is. It involves learning, not being perfect to begin with!
So don't think of mistakes as "nasty secrets." Think of all the learning you can be doing if you don't demand perfection from the beginning. At
Granite State College, we'll give you the best we have to offer and you may just end up feeling close to perfect!
Finally it seems that winter has left us behind and spring is giving way to summer. The flowers are in bloom and everyone wants to be outside. For me, that sunshine is also calling me to read a good book, whether in traditional book form, or on a computer screen.
Did you know that Granite State offers courses that allow you to experience the out of doors? There are science classes that allow you to travel to the Isles of Shoals. There are art classes that allow you to paint the landscape. These are some of the adult education services available to students at Granite State College.
The college also offers distance learning classes that would be perfect for you to get involved in while sitting in that warm spring sunshine. You can take online courses for adults at Granite State and enjoy the spring weather at the same time that you are studying science, math, behavioral science or early childhood education. So when you grab that good book and settle into the summer sunshine, grab a Granite State College catalog, and enjoy the weather.
I was sitting at the coffee shop this morning, listening to the news on TV and heard that college educations are not worth getting. It aggravated me so much as I disagree. Yes, maybe our economy is rough, there are lots of people who get degrees and can't get jobs. But, if you don't have a degree, do you have the knowledge or credentials to get a job if one were to come up? No. Getting an adult education degree is so valuable, I don't care what the economy is like. It grows your mind, your soul, your personality and knowledge is power. It always has been and always will be.
Accelerated degrees are so available at Granite State College. With weekend intensive classes as well as online classes for adults, college is possible for anyone. I hope the young adults don't stop dreaming and stop learning. I hope that people who are ready for a change in life job choice, grasp the concept of going back to school. Going back to school for me was the best decision I ever made and I will always be in the learning mode.
Do you know what it means to be a lifelong learner? Hopefully you are one. Maybe you graduated from high school 40 years ago, or maybe you are just about to graduate. Does that mean your learning is over? Do you stop learning just because you are no longer a student? A lifelong learner is one who is interested in knowing more about the things in their world. A lifelong learner is one who is excited by the many things they come in contact with each day and they want to know more.
Granite State College has so many programs for lifelong learners - after all, it's a lifelong learning college. Whether you are someone who just wants to take a course, maybe in environmental or behavioral science because that interests you, or you are someone who is thinking about finishing a degree in Early Childhood Education or taking Foster Parent Classes or online college English classes, you are a lifelong learner.
Granite State College has campuses around New Hampshire that can offer the lifelong learner opportunities for growth and understanding. You can take online college classes, or come to one of the campuses for a face to face experience. Either way, being a lifelong learner is what life after high school is all about.
If you are in the beginning stages of choosing your major, coursework, and the ultimate goal you hope to acheive when you graduate from Granite State College, I hope you will consider the following tips as you browse through the Granite State College catalog, whether you discover this important tool
online at the Granite State College website or just happen to pick up a hard copy in one of the nine class locations around the state:
1. Try to be as certain as you can be regarding your adult college degree outcomes. Are you taking courses at Granite State College for the purpose of completing a degree? Or, are you planning to complete your degree as a means of making a living?
2. As an adult higher education student there is little time to waste. Find an advocate in the wonderful faculty, advisors, and administrators surrounding you from day to day, who can guide you along. Achieving your degree can sometimes mean the difference in not only the jobs you qualify for but also the money you are preparing to earn.
3. Research, research, research. Know for certain what your degree means to you. Find out what the difference is between a BA and a BS. Know where your Behavioral Science Degree or your Language Arts Degree will lead to in the work force.
As a graduate now trying to get my sealegs in the workforce, I see how valuable this information is to obtain ahead of time.
I just moved into a new neighborhood recently where it seems everyone on my block goes to some local community college. Funny enough, that school is where both my fiancé and I had originally started out. We started to talk about how it's not a good school for someone who has to work and pay bills, because there were times when he had to choose whether to go to class or work and pay bills so he would not be evicted. "Try working, being a mom, paying bills, and going to school!" I had to laugh a little in relief that I don't have to deal with that! I don't have to decide if school is more important than working and paying bills, because with Granite State College I can take all of my courses online so that I can conveniently have a life and get a degree at the same time!
My son got a virus last weekend, and directly after that I got a severe sinus infection followed up with Bronchitis, (when I go for something, I go all or nothing! LOL!). I was horrifyingly ill, not able to speak for days on end. It was nothing I had to worry about, though, because with online classes for adults, there is no need to attend a class outside of my home. I can sit in my pajamas, hair a mess, a red nose from all my sneezing, and still attend class! When I had my appointment on Friday, and then had to wait what seamed like FOREVER for my prescription, I did not have to worry about not being able to attend class, and how it would affect my grade. When you attend online classes for college through Granite State College, if you can't find the time to do class work on Friday, you can do it on Thursday or even Saturday! It's really a life saver! And I don't even have to worry about attending class with a runny nose!
Remember that children's song? Well, if you live in Somerville, Massachusetts, you don't have to clap your hands to show that you're happy. Somerville (for those who aren't from New England, it sounds like "Summerville") officials, led by its major, Joseph A. Curtatone, thought it would be a good idea because they wanted to see whether projects like parks and bike paths have an effect on the happiness of people in the town.
This is the kind of project that's perfect for a social psychology class. (We have them online for adult education here at
Granite State College.)
Even learning how to put together a survey is an important skill. We read all the time about how "surveys show" and "statistics show," but it helps to know that how you phrase a question can influence the answer you get.
Oh, and did you know that Somerville is where Marshmallow Fluff was invented???
What are your thoughts about online adult education classes at Granite State College? Have you taken online classes for early childhood, or online classes for criminal justice, or maybe online college english classes?
What did you think? Were the class materials easy to negotiate online? Were the assignments clear and enjoyable? Did you feel that you were learning as much, or more than you do in a face to face class at Granite State?
I am asking because as a faculty member at Granite State College, I am taking a course on creating online courses. I am interacting with a number of faculty members who teach english courses and science courses and education courses. Our discussions focus on using the best online experiences for the students enrolled in online classes.
If you have thoughts about online classes for college or personal online education experiences at Granite State College, or want to get involved in the online courses, I would love to hear your ideas.
Another move means another house to find, another place to call home. This time, I don't want much, something simple and small is what I am looking for. This move is a bit challenging as Michigan home prices have dropped so much and the questions is, will they drop anymore? I guess it is all relevant as my home in SC still has not sold and I don't need a big house payment. I go out tomorrow to scope out some areas that I am interested in. It is similar to when I moved to NH and scoped out Granite State College. It was everything I needed in a college and when I moved to SC, it was the college that could move with me. The online classes for adults made it possible for me to continue my education without a bump in the road!! It was great. I am hoping this house hunting trip tomorrow will be as smooth as my education was.
It has been a long day and I need to get some rest for my busy house hunting day I have tomorrow...till the next post!! You all keep learning!!
Teachers are always encouraged to practice what they preach. Granite State College faculty are no exception. Teachers need to know what they are asking students to do.
In this case, faculty at Granite State College are encouraged to take an online course about teaching online college courses. The course is conducted in Blackboard (the online course format). The course is set up just as an online college English class, or other online class, might be conducted at Granite State. All of the adult education resources are the same as those for any course. Faculty take the course while creating an online course for future use.
So far the experience is an interesting one. Faculty are having a change to get to know each other through the online discussion boards. There are tests, readings and assignments. I think we will all be better prepared to create exciting online courses because we have practiced as students, what we will be asking students to do in future courses.
Classes are over! This was one of the harder terms that I have encountered here at Granite State College. New experiences and new ways of taking classes (example: 5 week online intensive class) doesn't always mean that it will make your life easier. On the flip side, taking a chance on a new way of taking classes could change the way you complete your program. I have never considered taking an English class online, however the online college English classes that are offered here are many, and the way they are set up seem to be pretty well constructed. Not to mention, I'm on my computer ALL the time so this is another excuse to take my computer everywhere :)
I am relieved to be done with this term. That means I am that much closer to finishing my teacher training education! And...behavioral science. It's a day by day, step by step, class by class, week by week (etc, etc, etc...) in finishing my degrees. Some days it feels like it will never end, and at other times it feels like time is flying. Don't get me wrong: my adult education is a ride that I don't want to have pass by me, but I can be a little impatient...
For everyone who has finished their classes, congrats! 12 weeks is an accomplishment. You should feel very proud of yourself!
I recently attended the 2011 College Access Showcase sponsored by Campus Compact for NH and NHCUC. One of the workshops I attended was with John T. Kirkpatrick, Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts, UNH. A dynamic and engaging speaker, John spoke about his experience as Dean and the challenges that new college students encounter. While his focus was on the traditional aged student in the New Hampshire university system, he made some great points that are appropriate for all of us.
The purpose of higher education is more than just filling students with information. It should not only develop the intellect but also the heart, character, integrity and judgment and how to use all of this wisely. We want students to become productive and useful citizens contributing to society in a meaningful way. Intellect needs to be balanced with innovation and creativity.
Look at any job search website and you will find lists of qualities that employees are looking for. Apart from skills in the profession, employers want people who have reasoning skills and the ability to problem solve. Communication skills, both written and oral, are crucial. Understanding of human behavior is important to be able to work well with others. Having an historical consciousness to have that understanding of how we got where we are today.
As I listened to John talk I realized this makes a good argument to the complaint "Do I have to take these gen eds?" Yes, you do! Those classes help to develop skills apart from those specific to your field of study. They help you to learn about yourself, others and the world around you.
Granite State College offers a great variety of general education electives that I encourage students to take advantage of. Whether students are looking for online classes for adults or evening college classes there are plenty of classes to choose from that will help develop their creativity, intellect, and compassion.
There's nothing more frustrating and nerve-wracking then your computer Internet connections giving you problems when you are trying to make a deadline for your online adult education classes. It can never be the days when you know you have a few days to submit an assignment: no, no... it's always on Sunday starting at 6pm, and it's the end of the module (which means nothing can be submitted after Sunday midnight), and you can spend HOURS trying to get your computer working and when it does, it is now Monday morning.
So what can you do about this? Fortunately, everyone in the Granite State College system are very understanding, and will help you in any way they can. Whether that means going to the college and using their computers, or working with your teacher(s) explaining the situation. My experience has shown me time and time again that the teachers don't want to see you fail: they genuinely want you to do your best and pass the class. And for those who participate and put in the effort, they will help you in any way they can.
In some respect, high school was harder than college.
I recently had some *very* annoying Internet issues, and I was very touched at how the faculty helped me. Which got me thinking about other technical issues I have had in the past. Any time I had a question about a form that adult Financial Aid sent me, or any letter about my schooling, I can call them up, or stop over at my home base (the Concord NH college campus), and they will take the time to answer any questions that I have. They are there to help make this process easier for us; including helping us with forms and/or submitting grant requests, etc. It's a true example of adult education services.
Everyone needs help at one time or another, and I will never forget all of the hands that have been and are reaching out to help. As corny as it sounds: Granite State College is a family. No one is excluded. Everyone knows your name, and it has that true feeling of "home" away from home.
Applications at Granite State College are up nearly 40% over last year. This is wonderful news for the college, since it indicates that we are addressing higher education needs that are in demand. It also represents the college's ability to adapt and change in ways that impact prospective students. Granite State has taken a number of steps this year to make the college more attractive to working professionals and adult students of all ages, who are juggling job and family commitments.
Over this past year Granite State has streamlined its application process, significantly upgraded our Rochester NH college campus center and opened a new center at the Littleton NH college campus. Students are also gravitating to our online classes for adults and therefore we have significantly expanded are online offerings and currently offer every one of our degree programs fully online.
The world is moving very quickly and the needs of our students are changing just as quickly. While Granite State College continues to emphasize the quality of the student experience we are also paying increasing attention to the convenience factor that is integral to access.
Tonight, in my child development class at Granite State College's Portsmouth NH college campus, we were talking about cognitive development of high school students. We discussed how during the high school years, children are transitioning to adulthood, not only in their size, but also in their thinking. Students in high school begin to analyze things from a variety of perspectives. They start to think of themselves as part of a larger world and they start to make moral judgments based on an understanding of right and wrong. You might not think that education classes at Granite State College would touch on world issues, but as we discussed thinking and reasoning, we also talked about issues facing not only today's teens, but also issues facing our country and our world. Should we be concerned about the fate of people half way around the world in Japan? Should we care about how the United States is responding to the crisis in Libya? There are many classes at Granite State College that will allow you to think more deeply about world issues. Think about registering for online classes or face to face classes. These might be behavioral science classes or critical thinking or an online class for criminal justice. Try registering for an adult education class. Many of the classes will encourage you to think and offer you a chance to discuss your ideas with other people who are also interested in world issues.
Today is the first day of spring and, as I write this blog, I am watching the snowflakes swirl around outside my window. I ask myself how can this really be the first day of Spring? And then I think about all the important dates in our lives: Holidays, birthdays, vacations... fun days that we look forward to. But what about for college students? There are exam days and papers due days and beginning and ending of the semester days. These are special days too but not always those fun days, unless you consider them as milestones in getting you closer to where you want to be in life.
So have you considered where you want to be by next spring or next winter or next birthday? How about enrolling in classes at Granite State College. Did you know that there are online classes for almost every subject? There are also face to face classes in Portsmouth, and Rochester and Lebanon and Manchester and Littleton and Berlin. That pretty much covers the state. You can find yourself in a different place by that next special date in your life. You could be halfway through an Adult Accelerated Degree Program, or finishing an adult education certificate, or taking classes in Early Childhood Education, or any number of degree programs at Granite State College. So don't wait for Spring to arrive. Register now and be ready when that special date, the first day of spring classes arrives in April.
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