[nabs-l] Five reasons why college is better than high school!
Julie McGinnity
kaybaycar at gmail.com
Fri Aug 7 16:55:30 UTC 2015
Hi all,
These are great points Arielle! In college you learn to think ahead,
can work at your own pace, and must take responsibility of your
day-to-day necessities as well as your future. It can be terrifyin,
but it can also be exciting.
As for language classes, I majored in German, and at my undergraduate
university, the classes were 3 times a week, and the higher level
classes were 2 times a week. They even offered 3 or 4 hour night
classes in languages. But here at my graduate university, I will be
taking French and Italian every day. All language classes give lots
of homework too in my experience. I was also a music major and had
lots of theory homework. But the amount of homework does depend on
the classes you take, the kind of university you choose, and the level
you're at in school.
IMO, college is a great time for self discovery. You will learn how
you learn best, how to keep yourself organized, and when to ask for
help. Can you cram the night before a test and get an A? How much do
you need to study in a certain class? How quickly can you write a
good paper? Which schedule combination will allow you just the right
amount of free time in the right parts of the day? If you pay
attention, you will learn all these things in college.
On 8/7/15, Karl Martin Adam via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Sami, as far as language classes go that depends on the school.
> Mine only met twice a week just like any other class.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Sami Osborne via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing
> list<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Fri, 07 Aug 2015 09:03:03 -0400
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Five reasons why college is better than
> high school!
>
> Hi Arielle,
>
> Thank you very much for posting your reasons here, I think these
> will really help! As you probably know, I just graduated from
> high school last June, and will be headed to college in the
> spring (I will be doing blindness training starting next month,
> just like Joe suggested).
> I want to clarify something, though, you said that language
> classes meet every day while other classes only meet a couple
> times a week. I'm actually majoring in foreign languages, so
> would that mean that I would have to go to class every day?
> Wow, these points that you made that you can make your own
> schedule and not having people bother you are definitely strong
> advantages of college over high school. I know this from my
> personal experience. As you just mentioned, in high school, my
> days always consisted of 6 hours in which to work, and I couldn't
> choose my own classes; they were mandatory for all students to
> take. I've also had exactly the same experience you had with
> other kids pushing each other around and things like that. I got
> tripped, and even got my cane knocked of my hand by someone,
> sometimes even so far away that someone else had to retreave it
> and give it back to me. I'm therefore really glad that people
> don't often do that in college.
>
> I do agree with Joe though, and frankly I have heard so many
> stories of kids (not necessarily blind students) who are
> struggling in college, fail to keep up with the work, and
> eventually drop out. Therefore, I'm also glad that I'm getting
> blindness training beforehand, since I'll most likely learn ways
> in which to succeed in college.
>
> Thanks for posting your reasons again, and happy almost weekend
> everyone.
>
> Sami
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Aaron via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Fri, 07 Aug 2015 01:41:00 -0400
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Five reasons why college is better than
> high school!
>
>
>
> I have to agree with everything you've said. I just love it.
> I'm glad that my high school had prepared me for rcollege. I
> went to a school for the blind and I now use all of the skills If
> learned to get around and function in college. Find something
> that you are good in and stick with it.
> Thanks
> Aaron
>
> blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your
> future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people,
> because low expectations create obstacles between blind people
> and our dreams. You can have the life you want; blindness is not
> what holds you back.
>
> On Aug 6, 2015, at 11:00 PM, Arielle Silverman via nabs-l
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Hi all. For those of you who will be transitioning from high
> school to
> college this fall, or seniors getting ready to apply to college,
> I
> wanted to send along this hopefully-encouraging post regarding
> why, in
> my experience, college was far better and easier than high
> school.
> Disclaimer: This post is mostly opinion (though some of it will
> probably apply to most college students). Some of you may
> disagree
> with some of what I say, and if you do, feel free to join the
> discussion.
>
> 1. You have much more free time in college. Typically, high
> school
> involves five or six hour-long class periods five days a week,
> plus
> lunch. That adds up to 30 plus hours on campus every week. In
> college,
> most students take 12-15 hours of classes per week. Most
> college
> classes (except for language classes) don't meet every day. So
> you
> will have lots of extra time to spend as you want.
> 2. You get to make your own schedule. Are you a night owl?
> Sign up for
> night classes, or at least don't sign up for any classes before
> 10
> a.m. Want to take Fridays off? Set your schedule so your
> classes are
> all Monday-Wednesday or Tuesday-Thursday. OK, sometimes that's
> not a
> possibility, but you have far more flexibility when setting your
> schedule in college, since most classes are taught multiple
> times
> during the week. Many universities also have online course
> offerings,
> giving you even more schedule flexibility.
> 3. Less homework! That's right! Yes, you do need to keep up
> with the
> assigned readings, papers and at least look over your notes
> before
> each test. But if your high school experience was anything like
> mine,
> there were probably a lot of "busy work" worksheets and study
> guides
> you had to fill out for a grade (which often weren't available
> in
> Braille on time). In college, they don't care so much how you
> learn
> the material as long as you understand it well enough to pass
> the
> exams and/or write coherent papers. Math classes will have
> regular
> homework, but for most other classes there will only be a few
> assignments. Plus, professors are required to give you a
> schedule of
> when everything is due at the beginning of the semester (a
> "syllabus")
> so you can plan ahead. While papers can be a bit overwhelming
> at
> first, the long time you get to complete them means that you can
> easily enlist help from tutors and the professor. (see next
> point).
> 4. Your teachers are experts in their subject who set up
> regular times
> to help students. Most university professors have to have a
> doctorate
> in their subject in order to teach. That means they've
> voluntarily
> spent 4-7 years studying the subject in depth and then wrote a
> short
> book (dissertation) about that subject. Trust me, nobody would
> go
> through the dissertation process and finish it if they didn't
> really
> really love that subject! Even lower-level instructors (which
> you may
> get for intro classes or community college classes) typically
> have to
> have a master's degree which involves at least 2 years of
> intense
> studies in that subject. While I can't promise that all
> professors are
> good teachers, they will usually be far more knowledgeable than
> your
> high school teachers are about the specific subjects they teach.
> Furthermore, college teachers are usually required to hold
> office
> hours, the sole purpose of which is to help students with their
> classes on request. Office hours were most likely not available
> to you
> when you were in high school, but in college, it's a wonderful
> opportunity to get clarification on something in the lesson, or
> feedback on a draft of a paper. In addition to this, most
> colleges
> have other free resources for students like tutoring and writing
> assistance.
> 5. College is a chance for you and your classmates to grow up!
> One of
> the first things I noticed was that in college, I no longer had
> to
> deal with kids crowding me in the halls, jumping on or over my
> cane,
> grabbing me or making rude comments. I enjoyed the freedom of
> being
> treated like an adult by both teachers and peers. Of course,
> growing
> up is bittersweet, but with the myriad of options for social
> clubs,
> communal living, and diversity that you will find on a college
> campus,
> you will find that almost anyone can identify a place where they
> fit
> or a class or extracurricular activity that they love. As you
> move
> through college, you will learn a lot of exciting things about
> yourself, what you enjoy and what you want to do in the next
> phase of
> your life.
> Best, Arielle
>
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--
Julie McGinnity
National Federation of the Blind of Missouri second vice president,
National Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President
graduate, Guiding Eyes for the Blind 2008, 2014
"For we walk by faith, not by sight"
2 Cor. 7
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