Does a more formal education help people see their futures in a clearer perspective? It seems in my experience back at school after 26 years, little has changed. Experiencing humiliation still exists at school for non-traditional students. Non-traditional students like me sometimes fear returning to school because of previous bad experiences. As adults outside of school, they have become accustomed to being treated with the respect due people who have successfully raised families and financially supported themselves. As a result, returning to school brings back all the past traumatic school experiences that may make non-traditional students doubt their competence. Learning for non-traditional students is more difficult because they cannot always see the differences between classes. Therefore, when non-traditional students experience emotional difficulties in college classes, old failures return, and they are more likely to lose what perspective they have from their previous experiences and quit again. When I was fifteen, my junior high school experience was humiliating. This humiliation resulted in my quitting school and not returning for 26 years. During these 26 years, I have suffered the impact of life experiences and a lack of a formal education. Now, I have a better understanding about myself in society, but at this time, as I return, I question how the formal education system can contribute to my life, and I feel like quitting again.
At the age of forty-three I have returned to school at Raymond Walters College to achieve my goals of comprehending legal documents and purchasing contracts, and to have the intellectual ability to stand up to potentially humiliating situations. When I reflect back on my feelings as a fifteen year old, the emotions that haunt me are shock, embarrassment, anger, and hurt. I wonder if I will view current school experiences as harshly as I did when I was fifteen. In college I can acquire writing skills in English class and have opportunities to meet people from different cultures. These opportunities will help me succeed in public relations. Students cannot always see the differences in English classes, and confusion may cause a non-traditional student to work conscientiously. Success or failure for any student can be determined not only through working diligently but also through the approach towards learning and teaching styles. Whether the education I am receiving at Raymond Walters College will benefit my future goals because of current frustrations and confusions is still to be determined.
At this time, I know the English classes that I am taking will help me and others gain confidence in written communication. Certainly, learning to write will help me address my issues in written form. These English classes are prerequisites for many classes such as psychology and sociology. In addition, in classrooms non-traditional students have opportunities to meet people from Russia, Kuwait, Israel, and Turkey. Meeting others from different cultures can enlighten individuals about other countries’ development.
Therefore, when a non-traditional student experiences humiliation as a result of teachers making unfounded statements, innuendos, or discouraging assumptions, he or she feels betrayed, embarrassed, and totally humiliated; for example, when I was fifteen my English teacher announced that I had not done so well on an exam and I must not have studied. Therefore I was asked to stand up and be recognized. This was a very embarrassing and humiliating situation for me. Consequently, students like me who are publicly humiliated will begin to question their competence and become distant towards other cultures. Often the reaction to bad experiences results in the decision to quit school.
Therefore, non-traditional students will take such humiliating behavior from other adults very seriously. In reacting to this type of behavior, students realize they have already gained respect in society. Students, like myself, who have raised and supported families, do not need others to stifle or inhibit our formal education. Also, any non-traditional student who returns for a more formal education has already learned a great deal about life. The expectations of having a more formal education are to enhance and clarify one’s goals for the future. Clearly, the non-traditional student has reached the survival stage of educational choices for a more successful life and has acquired a more open mind and a more positive attitude, which enables him or her to better deal with difficult situations. As a result of my experiences as an adult, I know that I need to resolve any conflict I feel in school because it could destroy my outlook on my education. I know my college experience will be a magnificent enrichment because I am in control of my education.