[NAGDU] Training with my first dog while taking two light[er] online college courses?

[Roanna Bacchus]

I wouldn't pursue gvide dog training while completing two online college courses. When I was in college, I took several online courses. There is a lot of work to be completed for online courses. You will have long days athe Seeing Eye, and you are expected to spend a lot of time training with your dog. I would put guide dog training off until the Summer. You will have more time to focus on it then. 

On Feb 18, 2018 8:42 AM, "Miranda B. via NAGDU" <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Hi everyone, 
>
> I currently have a tentative class date to get my first dog at The Seeing 
> Eye in late May, but I'm admittedly impatient. I'm considering researching 
> whether it would be possible/practical to move my class date up to April, 
> and I would love input from anyone who has trained while taking online 
> classes. I do recognize that my goal and reason for going is to train and 
> bond with my dog, and I don't plan to be locked in my room away from my 
> classmates for every spare moment. 
>
> You may be asking why I don't consider a March class date. My reasoning for 
> this is two-fold. First, I am traveling out of the country for the first 
> time from March 17-24. Second, even if I was staying home for spring break, 
> I feel it would be less likely that the school would have an opening in 
> March. 
>
> As I noted, I'm traveling to the Dominican Republic with a team from my 
> university for an international field experience/study trip from March 
> 17-24. Recognizing that this would be my first trip outside the United 
> States, I'm thinking through the implications of possibly moving my class 
> date to as soon as one week after my return from the Dominican Republic. I'm 
> thinking through my reverse culture shock, processing my trip, ETC. I'm 
> wondering if a week at home would be enough time. 
>
>
>
> Next, if I were to move my class date from May to April, I would be taking 
> two online courses at that time, and my training would fall in weeks 2-5 of 
> those courses. When I wrote out a daily to-do list for the 8 weeks of these 
> courses, I noted a few pros. 
>
> The readings are relatively short and easily spread throughout each week, 
> the longest of which is 15 pages and would take approximately 30 minutes to 
> complete. 
>
> Each class includes 15-20 minutes of video presentations per week, and I 
> could watch these while getting ready for breakfast on the weekends. 
>
> I have my required quizzes and discussion posts of 250-350 words scheduled 
> for the end of the week and weekends. 
>
> My two shorter writing assignments are able to be spread out, one of which 
> can span 2-3 weeks with some advanced preparation. 
>
> I'm estimating 1-2 hours per day during the week, and 2 hours per day on the 
> weekends for coursework. 
>
> I will have downloaded my course materials, discussion prompts, and video 
> presentations at the beginning of the courses, in order to minimize my need 
> to be online. This is in the event that I need to rely on my phone's data 
> plan for internet to submit assignments and complete quizzes, in case the 
> WiFi is unreliable. 
>
> Is this practical? 
>
> As my husband attended The Seeing Eye this past summer, I am familiar with 
> the long days and full schedules from 5:30 AM-8:00 PM. However, my husband 
> did note increased down time during the freelance portion of training. 
>
> Any thoughts would be very much appreciated. 
>
> Thanks as always for your feedback, and have a wonderful week! 
>
>
>
> Best wishes, Miranda 
>
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