My co-worker's son is in trouble for skipping classes at college. How do I know? I heard the guy on the phone with the dean of student life all morning. The college sounds very strict, they give "demerits" for skipping classes AND church.
This reminded me of all the classes I skipped in my undergrad days. I discovered my spring semester freshman year (1996) that I didn't miss anything skipping a class so that lead to a deadly downward spiral. Over the years, I skipped so many classes that I forgot where the class was held. Or I wasn't in class to pick up a take home final so I downloaded the assignment only to find out after I submitted it, the assignment was from the year before. Or I missed so many classes, I didn't hear about the re-scheduled mid-term so I showed up when the mid-term should have been given and it was a regular class. Spring semester my Junior year, I was on academic probation with a GPA around 2.0. That year, my brother and I would go out for lunch/dinner and have skipped class confessions where we'd try to figure out our GPA on a napkin. I occasionally aced a class here and there which were usually history classes: hence my major. I had been trying for a minor in Political Science but I wound up skipping most of those classes so I graduated 1 credit shy of a poli sci minor.
What did I do while skipping class? I'd either be sleeping or hanging out at the marching band HQ completing a crossword puzzle. If the weather was nice, I'd get ice cream from the Blue Wall and lay out by the campus pond. Due to this experience, I firmly believe that the expected progression of high school to college doesn't work across the board. If a kid graduates high school, they should be given options other than college (unless they know what they want from higher ed). I had no idea what I was doing and wasted a lot of money at my university.
On gray days like today, I still kind of wish I could "skip" work. Especially since it has been dead all week.
1 comment:
I second that!! Lord have mercy you should speak at High schools!!
No assumptions required for kids heading into college or otherwise.
I was to graduate in 4 years, just like the rest of my siblings. It's what everyone does, my parents told me. Although it left me 1 credit short of 4 minors, and I had to take two classes over the summer to complete the required graduation coursework. I ended up "graduating" in December, just as though I did take that extra semester. It infuriated my parents, but they were just glad I walked in May and had the party.
It's such crap, what parents throw at kids in order to 'do what is done.' The scary thing is, some people never come to your realization... they just go along with whatever was put in front of them and lay blame later on in their 40's, in AA or on a talk show.
All we can do is learn from the errors and try not to repeat them.
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