Spring Break
The Daily OrangeFriday: What a difference a day makes
Abstract:
Following freshman year, Jordan Upmalis decided permanent three-day weekends would be a necessity in college life....
- Displaying 1 - 2 of 2
Marc LeVine
posted 12/27/07 @ 11:51 AM EST
When my wife and I attended SU in the 70's, Fridays was a regular class day, much like the other four days of the week. Back then, it was a goal to avoid the dreaded 8 am class, rather than a Friday schedule of courses.
Flash forward to the present. Our own sons have gotten into the four day school week planning mode at their respective colleges (neither attends SU). They like having their Friday's off, too, but I'm not so sure it is the best way to prepare oneself for the real world, after college.
Going to college for 5+ years seems to be one of today's educational norm. Heck...it brings in extra money for many colleges and universities. And, many students don't seem to mind donning cap and gown at 23, 24 or 25 years old, either.
When my wife and I attended an incoming freshmen orientation for our older son, a few years ago, his financial aid director remarked that parents should expect their children to attend college for five or more years, instead of the old norm of four. He was on the mark - it took that son, of ours, six years to graduate from that state school.
My second son, at a different college, also seems to be headed towards a similar number of years od study, too.
How did my wife and I make it in only four years? Well, high school was much better those days and we didn't need to take all those non credit remedial courses that many of today's students need to. And, we packed our class schedules pretty tight all five days of the week.
Don't forget, we also spent much more time in the library and manually typing papers, in those days. There was no Internet back then. We had no PC's with spellcheck, either. We also took a few credits during the summer semesters to finish up on time. My kids wanted their summers study free.
Unless today's graduates are lucky, they will have to work five days a week and still be available to their bosses almost 24/7 via technology. Late nights and some weekends are also a distinct possibility in the real world, too. I've even moved around a vacation or two to meet project deadlines and usually check my email from aboard cruise ships.
College shouldn't be a place to try and avoid real world expectations. It should be a place to prepare for them.
Flash forward to the present. Our own sons have gotten into the four day school week planning mode at their respective colleges (neither attends SU). They like having their Friday's off, too, but I'm not so sure it is the best way to prepare oneself for the real world, after college.
Going to college for 5+ years seems to be one of today's educational norm. Heck...it brings in extra money for many colleges and universities. And, many students don't seem to mind donning cap and gown at 23, 24 or 25 years old, either.
When my wife and I attended an incoming freshmen orientation for our older son, a few years ago, his financial aid director remarked that parents should expect their children to attend college for five or more years, instead of the old norm of four. He was on the mark - it took that son, of ours, six years to graduate from that state school.
My second son, at a different college, also seems to be headed towards a similar number of years od study, too.
How did my wife and I make it in only four years? Well, high school was much better those days and we didn't need to take all those non credit remedial courses that many of today's students need to. And, we packed our class schedules pretty tight all five days of the week.
Don't forget, we also spent much more time in the library and manually typing papers, in those days. There was no Internet back then. We had no PC's with spellcheck, either. We also took a few credits during the summer semesters to finish up on time. My kids wanted their summers study free.
Unless today's graduates are lucky, they will have to work five days a week and still be available to their bosses almost 24/7 via technology. Late nights and some weekends are also a distinct possibility in the real world, too. I've even moved around a vacation or two to meet project deadlines and usually check my email from aboard cruise ships.
College shouldn't be a place to try and avoid real world expectations. It should be a place to prepare for them.
- Displaying 1 - 2 of 2
gm
posted 12/13/07 @ 5:59 PM EST