The Old Folks Home

[sourland]

seems like the students are getting taken advantage of--paying a fortune and not getting a true college experience

Agreed - the education is only part of the college experience. Realistically I feel that everything should have been shut down until the present situation is resolved, but who am I ?

 

[cheepteach]

kids don't want their lives on hold---it's just sad.

 

[sourland]

kids don't want their lives on hold---it's just sad.

If I'd been told "You have to take a year off from school." at any point during my education , my reaction would have been

 

[sourland]

Well, son and grand daughter just left for Syracuse. It's been great having her here this past two weeks.

 

[Bunnylady]

Well, son and grand daughter just left for Syracuse. It's been great having her here this past two weeks.

Near as I can tell, the "college experience" is the reason that so many schools are suffering Covid 19 clusters already. And when I think back to my college years, I'm trying to figure out what it is about dorm life, eating cafeteria food , shuffling along through crowded halls , and sitting in painfully hard desks for hoursthat makes it worth the price of full tuition. The day students missed out on the social side of things, and that, of course, is the very thing that spreads coronavirus. Besides having to do their own laundry and dishes, and not having their parents know what time they came in, I'm not sure that college was all that different from high school for my peers; it certainly bore little resemblance to life as it is lived by most adults. The social isolation of the virtual student is tough, no doubt about that, but since they do so much interaction by social media and text messaging anyway, I'd think today's students would be far better equipped to cope with that than their counterparts of a couple generations ago.

 

[microchick]

@Bunnylady

Personally, I loved college. Didn't live on campus as I attended a Junior College for my nursing school. But it was so refreshing to be able to take courses in subjects that I was interested in.

Do I miss the 'college experience' of staying in a dorm? I have to admit that I do see it as having a purpose. It prepares young people to live on their own and not depend on mom and dad for everything from meals to laundry.

But in these challenging times where it is safer to take courses on line than in person I do think that the universities should be giving students that are taking courses virtually a break or even an incentive for doing so.

The college experience is good but impractical in a lot of circumstances. A large percentage would be better off going to a junior college or technical school for a continuing education that is going to make them better equipped to go out in the world and make a solid living. Granted if you want to be a doctor, physicist or whatever you need that 8-9 year education. But students graduating from the same medical school that my husband attended are coming out with over 250,000 dollars in college loans right off the starting line. That was over 5 years ago when we were retiring.

And people wonder why medical care costs so much.

 

[getaclue]

Yesterday evening, I mentioned to Dh that we need to include surge suppressors on each of the ethernet cables. He went out to a storage tote, in the garage, and pulled one out of the box. He didn't consider it important at the time, so he tossed it in the box with the spare parts. Yes, he will be ordering a bunch of them, and USING them.

 

[microchick]

@CapricornFarm, how are your goats today?

 

[CapricornFarm]

@CapricornFarm, how are your goats today?

I just came in from giving them medications. Windy seems about the same and Misty worries me. She is gritting her teeth. I gave her more bloat medication and a little milk by bottle . I don't think she can drink by herself. So I am also going to give her electrolytes in water and some drench. I have not seen her eat either, though there's a bucket of fresh leaves and hay in there. Not giving them goat feed right now.

 

[Alaskan]

We can relate, @Alaskan. Believe me, we can relate.

How stringent are your Covid rules up there? Any chance you could turn her into the health dept and let her become their problem?

Pretty strict, but no prosecution for anything.

I'm not sure that college was all that different from high school for my peers; it certainly bore little resemblance to life as it is lived by most adults. The social isolation of the virtual student is tough, no doubt about that, but since they do so much interaction by social media and text messaging anyway, I'd think today's students would be far better equipped to cope with that than their counterparts of a couple generations ago.

I dunno, I loved college but hated high-school.

I finally got to pick anything and everything that I was interested in, and learn about it. And the student center had craft classes of every kind with all equipment for very low cost. It was heaven, and such fun to explore so many new things.

Also, the required PE was great fun, I got to learn new stuff.

And I am not so sure that I would have done well with internet school. I loved going to class, talking to the professors, meeting with them to go over stuff...

Of course everyone is different and learns differently.

My eldest does better with online school... but it will be VERY difficult for my second kid to learn with online school, kid 2 does way better with in person/ real person learning.