The Education of a Sidetracked Write: Part 4 — School in the 40s

This, but computers at every seat.

No, not the 1940s — my 40s. Or the new 20s, however you want to look at it. I was back at college to earn a Writing Certificate. I felt like I was 20 again, but the reality was 44-going-on-45, and that was that.

In my Persuasive Writing class, the essay subjects were current affairs. The first issue was whether a ski resort should put man-made snow on a sacred Native American mountain. Next, was the Wall being built on the Arizona-Mexico border (I always think of that particular wall as The Wall now — no more Pink Floyd). Of course, we discussed the subjects in class, did peer reviews and participated in small-group exercises that illustrated techniques we should use in our essays.

And you know what? I marveled at the thought processes of these classmates who could be my kids. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t the deep consideration most of them gave the issues. Their arguments were intelligent and well thought out. I wondered if my son, the high school junior, participated in discussions like these. Probably so, I thought, at least in his AP classes. Go figure. I found myself with a new respect for these young adults and for my son. I resolved to stop thinking of them as kids. I’m not sure if they stopped thinking of me as a mom, though.

The last essay turned out to be a group essay. Ugh. The project required meeting outside of class, which required coordination. It would mean a grade dependent on the work of others, as well as mine. Not that I cared about grades, I told myself; I was there to learn. But really, I wanted to get A’s in my classes, or I would never hear the end of it from my straight-A son. And, I did feel like a mom: I had to balance working at home (flexible, thank goodness), picking up my kids from school (not so flexible), being around to help my younger son with homework (i.e., keeping him on task) and myriad other everyday chores. It seemed that the group always had to adjust for my schedule.

As we compared research and debated the merits of using corn for ethanol, I wondered if they just tolerated the older person in the group? Did I seem weird to them? I hoped that instead they saw someone with something new to offer them, a different perspective on the issues. I hoped they would see me as a person successfully juggling job-family-school and consider that someday they might need to do the same. I hoped that maybe, because of me, they would see their own moms in another light, the way I was seeing my son in a different light because of them.

So what did I learn in Persuasive Writing? I learned about writing a thesis, making and supporting claims and how to sum up my arguments in a single short paragraph.  (I missed all that the first time around by testing out of English.) I learned more about how to research and use online resources. And, oh my god, I learned MLA format — it still gives me nightmares. I got to free-write every class period, a valuable tool. And I got a little kick in the pants regarding the upcoming generation. They are smart and thoughtful and funny, and I wasn’t giving them nearly enough credit. I also found out that life experience doesn’t necessarily lessen effort required — college is still damn hard work.

Next up: Hmm…not sure yet. I’ll surprise you.    Happy Thanksgiving!

Yum!

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