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Even though I have been a freelance writer for The Madill Record for almost a year, and a full-time writer for three months, I still have not had the pleasure of meeting everybody. Since it is near impossible to meet an entire county, I will give the readers insight to my life.
As I stated in my “meet the staff” article, I am a graduate from Southeastern Oklahoma State University with a dual bachelors in English and Communications/Journalism. Apparently, I really like to write. But, I digress, this article is not about my degrees or past academic experience, it is about what is yet to come.
One would think that I would be done with my education. Alas, I am not. I start my graduate program with the University of Texas Permian Basin August 24. For a little over two years, I will be chasing the coveted masters hood along with the piece of paper that states I have mastered the English language. With that graduate degree, I will be able to teach English and Journalism classes if I so desire, and I do.
This is the time of year for many schools across the nation to begin their academic year. In Marshall County, Kingston began August 8, and Madill a week later.
This little nugget of information sparked an idea in my brain, the differences between secondary, and postsecondary education. High school runs a strict regime that affords the student barely enough time to breathe. Most schools run seven periods a day, with five minutes between, and only thirty minutes for lunch.
Also, the teacher typically reminds students when homework is due, and some might even give a second chance to turn the assignment in if the deadline passed. In college, professors almost never give reminders about assignments — even though, two-year colleges tend to give gentle nudges more than a four-year university. Many professors will not accept a late assignment.
In high school, there are strict guidelines on what the student should take at each level and what is needed to graduate. There are also counselors available to register the students into the required classes. College is another beast all together. The student has an advisor, but they will only guide the student to what they might need. It is up to the student on what classes he or she will take for the semester.
Students are typically provided the required text books in high school, while college students must figure out what textbooks are required and find the cheapest way to either buy or rent them.
Although high school and college are on complete sides of the spectrum, they still hold two things in common: the new school year jitters, and school clothes shopping.