Adults Returning to College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Adults Returning to College - Essay Example 'Adults returning to college', is essentially a transition beyond the ordinary.Foremost, it is a social conversion for the adult; jumping into an era that was, at least theoretically, long gone. It is time travel in a very crude and possibly uncomfortable way. Regardless of the academic value and professional excellence that education may provide, the impact of identifying with the fact that the peers shall no longer be of the same age group, a feeling of being a misfit is created. This generates a social challenge that can only coped with successfully if time and understanding friends stick by. Other than that, one should remember the primary concern for re-entering the college. It may be for educational superiority, for professional excellence, for career searching, or merely to relive a once imagined dream. Whatever the preference, it should, by all means, supersede the social challenge.Another relevant issue is that of changed domestic commitments. Years back, when one would have been single, independent and free of domestic liability, college could have seemed much more feasible. However, with a job, a spouse and a couple of children (who themselves require adequate education), the picture seems in a totally different frame. This one factor alone probably deters many middle-aged individuals from returning to college - the myth of not being able to cope with family and studies together is just too strong to be broken with ease. With the work-at-hand and other personal commitment in modern times, the time spent with the family is already less than desired in many cases. Considering college in such circumstances becomes a real challenge. An associated problem to the one just mentioned, which only those can appreciate to the fullest who have gone through it, is child bearing and rearing. Largely for working single parents and even with professionally occupied couples, adequate care giving for their children is always a thwarted goal - something they feel to be missing out on every day of their life. Add college studies to this, and you can just forget about giving your child any time at all; at least till where they assume! However, for infants and even slightly older children, many community colleges offers daycare centers and customized child care services that actually help the student (whatever the age) to organize their course work and manage their domestic life in a better manner than they were doing before. A feeling of being intellectually rusty is another great demeanor for those who seek to go back to college at a later stage. Somehow, they rate intellect and creativity to youth; quite ironically, youngsters consider elders as more intelligible on the simple premise of maturity. This stark contrast, however, affects the adults more adversely than it does the young ones. For one, the youth feel that they might grow up one day to 'that' particular level of maturity. Whereas the elder person does not have that hope, as he has been through both phases and knows his/her correct standing. According to the Education and Employment Information Center, "Adult learners tend to be highly motivated and tend to approach learning in a mature manner". The psychological issue of being inferior, an under-achiever and out of sorts is also a hidden yet potent factor. Even if a person has the ability to learn and excel, the factor of being 'left behind' one's own friends, and to be amongst those of a different era gives rise to a series of timid ideas and mediocre feelings about