Stand Still

"Live in the moment", my mother always says when stress begins seeping out of my pores and into her serenity bubble. I can hear her voice every time my head starts to spin. The kind of spinning that your head feels after a fast ride on the park's manual merry go round. The fruits of adulthood came fast and learning how to cope was like biting into a mango seed. Standing still in moments of chaos is the key to becoming successful in whatever the heart desires. 

My mother always kept college in our minds growing up; she also made our dreams feel reachable. The pandemonium that comes when planning life is inevitable but living in the moment will ultimately bring peace to your soul. Planning the path I foresaw for myself in the beginning took many corrections. Gaining indecency, having kids, and planning my college future was a lot to take on. Half the time I feel like a circus act trying to juggle every aspect. Planning will never be precise while on baby time so I have learned how to be flexible but... this juggling thing takes talent. I live in the moment, therefore I am going to try my best.

Now, unless I find passions beyond my current path, then I would have to take a path less traveled. This would mean starting over. This being said, the more living done now, then the more you will able to laugh at in the future. It will all be funnier in a few years. 

This type of planning can be done with almost any upcoming event you need help breathing through. This means with anxiety during tests, making those important appointments, and even for scheduled study time. Notice the moments of peace between storms. This way of thinking will help your body stay calm while taking on those intense college courses. Learning is done best with confidence. Confidence is gained through the silent moments of self-discovery. The introduction to new classes helps the mind think differently. These new connections in the brain not only bring new insight to business life but also gives a clearer connection to personal living. Learning through books or learning through experience are both perfect ways to grow on the inside. Feeding the soul is necessary throughout each semester of learning. Forgetting to care for your soul will drop support of the mind, body, and ultimately that GPA. Try YOUR best and you will flourish with everything you encounter.

Online Class

     The learning outcomes of a class should be meet weather its hybrid, online, or in person. I've just finished my online class with AJS. Last semester I took a similar class called Homeland Security and Terrorism. Unfortunately for me I did not learn anything new from this new online class. I used my book from last semester and was still able to make an "A" in the class. Mostly discussions covering what we felt about certain situations. Perhaps I was just anticipating to gain knowledge that was skimmed through in my previous class. I think the class took a simple approach to teaching. Maybe because it was a online class or a short term class. Regardless of why; the class was fun and full of writing. Writing is something I love to do. The depth in terrorist was shallow.
     I would categorize this class to be a GPA booster class. These classes are perfect for a college student to get "satisfactory" on our transcripts. A nice and quick way to raise that GPA. The bad thing about this type of class is that, now, someone completely new to the subject has no foundation for the next class.
     I felt like the material brought to the tests had nothing to do with the lessons or discussions being taught. All of what was on the tests I only knew from earlier classes on similar topics. Weeding out these classes however will not be easy. Students will continue to take them simply because....well, there simple. Dropping GPA's are no fun. When you get to enjoy a stress free semester while bringing your GPA back up then life goes on with ease.
    I have only taken online this semester, my second class starts on the twelfth of this month, I hope this next class is just as easy. I'm not only trying to raise my GPA but also trying to take it easy do to all the unexpected things that have been happening lately. I knew when I signed up for classes that I would be struggling for every deadline. Unfortunately I have a student loan that is deferred until I am no longer taking classes. This being said, I am in it for the long run! Graduation is only a couple years away.

 

The six week stretch

Finally we have all made it! The six week part of the season. This is where things start getting a little easier. The point of return is thinning out. At six weeks, us, the students have a standard in order to measure the likelihood of passing the class. More than likely if a student is still confused about the basics in a class then its make it or brake it time. Basics include knowing the deadline dates to teachers assignments, special dates, and tests/exams. Knowing where to find the "help manual" is crucial too. Making a something in the class harder than it has to be makes the entire course go sideways. The teachers routine makes a nice assembly line in school work, especially when taking more than two classes. A teacher with kids would know exactly why a routine in class is mandatory. Adjusting to the tests given is another way to make this graduation thing come quicker and with better grades. We all know what kind of test takers we are. A test setup that is hard for a student to adjust to by week six even with a tutor may as well be that students way of failing. The flexibility of a teacher is necessary to get students higher grades in the class. A teacher who continues to give the same failing test to their students is not really paying attention to the ways of seeing that many of the students may have. The confidence in learning is based off of the teaching techniques used. Do you remember in grade school when teachers wold make you feel like a career student is what you wanted to be? Those are the teachers who have enough flexibility to teach a student what they need to know, even when it's not their standard way of teaching. This gives students confidence, logical and abstract ways of thinking, as well as a new outlook on the difficult things we don't understand yet. Failing at something difficult for everyone is hard to face. Failing at something that many of your peers excel at can be devastating. As a teacher would it be too much harder for the class your instructing to be more lenient in teaching structure and more sufficient in material learned for life? I have never been a teacher and do not know the first thing about what it takes to finish out a school year as one. I wish that teachers could make it easier on students and vise versa. The academic life would be so much more at ease. All it takes is for a teacher to be willing to capture this generations ways of learning. Maybe that just happens in movies like Coach Carter, Matilda, or the Freedom Writers. Were the teacher takes teaching to the head and to the heart.

              Each student has their own abilities to excel but we all learn at different paces.

Moms in School

I have been a student at Yavapai College since 2011. Ive been taking it slow ever since I had my son that same year. Since then I have had one other child who is now sixteen months. I have taken online, on campus, and hybrid classes. My favorite still is on campus with a one on one teacher. However, online has it's perks, such as the deadlines for things are midnight and a week away. The pressure is off during semesters of havoc at the home front. The hybrid classes were way too much for me, or maybe its just cause it was history I was learning, not my best subject. School is harder than its ever been before. My kids try to fight for the spotlight when I am at home doing my work, thank goodness for those midnight deadlines on canvas. When the kids are asleep, the college moms wont show defeat. Sleep? A thing of the past. I have a few more years of school til I graduate with my Bachelors. I go through panic attacks trying to beat time, which Ive learned to be more stressful than finals. My son is now five as of September 21st and I will continue pushing for this degree no matter the struggles. If any teachers read this I have one suggestion to make when teaching your class. Don't just skim us through the learning outcomes of your class but actually take notice of the students knowledge coming into the class and build off of the majorities knowledge. This would be extremely helpful when it comes to non core classes. The gaps of learning between classes are chapters apart and associated classes are even more off course from the different approaches of teaching.  I wish there was some way to bring shadowing to every class. Some kind of hands on experience that will grab each students attention. Many students don't realize that when a class is not a subject of your major, it's just as pertinent. Teachers sometimes take a parent role and this works! Tell your "kids" the things that are not in the books, teach them the insight you have on life. Don't take a whole lesson to do so but through out the semester. These words stick. Students find a certain respect and priority for you personally. Life is untamed and planning only keeps us on the path we think is right. Mother's keep pushing forward, take time to live in the moment.