Posted By: jnmnl- on
2008 graduate Joshua Packwood is the first white valedictorian in the 141 year history of Morehouse College in Atlanta, where 96 percent of the student body is black.
Tags:
racism, college, black people
Posted By: mellers on
I seem to have been so busy this week....... it makes a nice change. It's nearly lunchtime today already (on my only "free" day of the week now) and I still have shopping, cooking and house work to do as well as all my boards to still catch up on after my holiday. I have started volunteering at a Charity shop but it's not going well, so I may have to reconsider that particular move. More about that on another day I think.
I have also this week enrolled on a college A level course, but unlike previous years when I've gone to evening classes, This year I have decided to take an "infil" place in a day-time class with a bunch of 16 year olds. It offers significantly better value for money (5 hours lesson time per week on 2 different days, rather than one evening of 2.5 hours) and makes use of otherwise dreary, dull, hated and lonely day-times.
I turned up on Monday to enroll - which took an hour and a half of being asked to go from one room/desk/office. person to another through a seemingly never-ending maze of corridors, rooms and crowds and crowds of really thin young people. Got on the course and paid the money, but was saddened to learn that I wasn't going to be able to use the gym as I was only a part-time student.
Arrived on Tuesday (a bit hot and sticky after 30 mins cycling including a HUGE hill) to more crowds and then finally the right room full of 20 16 year old girls, 2 16 year old boys, the tutor and me. Was hoping to melt invisibly in to the background so was slightly taken aback when the tutor asked me if I wanted to explain to the rest of the class what I was doing there after the lesson. He wasn't quite that blunt but it seems that my obvious age, would mean they would wonder what I was doing in the class. Bang goes my anonymity. Mind you, having thought about it subsequently, maybe he's right.
Anyway, swearing was the first discussion point on the curriculum and we have subsequently (yesterday) got on to the topic of what constitutes good and bad English. I am surprised to learn however, that there are no set text books for this year. I've joined the college library and picked up a copy of Bill Bryson's 'Mother Tongue' which the tutor recommended for additional reading. Am actually finding myself ABLE to read a book (that one) at the moment which is a really positive step, and although I do feel really quite old in amongst all the kiddiewinks I do also feel really quite young again and find myself hopelessly trying to blend in with the crowd and dressing in their jeans/clingy-type sweater-top/tiny, flat slipper-type shoes. Who am I kidding?
Also managed to wangle my way in to the gym after speaking to the lovely head of department (amazingly fit of course) who said as long as I didn't make a big thing out if it I would be allowed to use the gym (and running treadmills - most important) free of charge. Have also looked in to the possibilities of joining their running club but am thinking that might indeed be way out of my league.
Am feeling like a real student again for the first time in a long time and am hopeful.
Tags:
college, volunteering, english
Posted By: mellers on
OK, so my knee injury has REALLY been hurting for the last 4 days and my run of disaster 3 days ago didn't help. I honestly think I would be doing myself NO favours at all if I go out and run at the moment (despite ironically enough really feeling motivated to do so! d'oh).
I've had an injury before and tried to igore it and ended up being off for 6 months so I'm NOT taking any chances this time. Hopefully maybe a week's rest will tone down the pain and swelling or what is an old soft-tissue injury. In the mean time, I've done something brave and got myself a job volunteering for a charity shop.
They seemed inordinately pleased to get some 'new blood' and I think it seems a very friendly place to be. It will really help with the lonliness and isolation I feel being at home alone all day by myself not partner is at work all day - and which will get worse when partner goes to work abroad for 2 months later in the year. I'm trying it gingerly at first only offering to do a morning and an afternoon per week at the moment.
I also picked up some adult education brochures today, despite still being unwilling to open my last set of exam results! Will I never learn.
Tags:
college, volunteering, injury
Posted By: juejee on
I have been blogging for eons at xanga. (www.xanga.com/juejee)
I blog once in a great while on my myspace or my cafemom. I knew ivillage had blogs but hadn't found out how or where to find them/use them. They don't seem quite as easy as xanga but maybe I'll get the hang of it.
I love my Moms In School group here on IVillage. They have been so supportive and helpful in my quest to go to college. One more week and I start! Hopefullly, I'll have books by then.
What a mess this has been. There should be a guide book written just for women who go back to school later in life on how to do it and what questions to ask. Just when I think I'm on a roll and doing something right I learn the last person I talked to didn't know their hiney from a hole in the ground and there were all these other steps I should have been doing.
Tags:
blogging, college, moms in school
Posted By: danidee973 on
I seem to frequently get sick when I am away at college, what are some immune system boosting remedies I can use?
Tags:
food, health, college, immune system