The winners are announced for the Take America to College contest - plus a new contest!

WINNERS - PLUS NEW CONTEST

Some time back, I blogged about the Take America to College contest. In the contest, nontraditional students up to age 30 were encouraged to send their stories and videos.

The winning videos will run on MTV.com soon!


The site is asking, Tell Us What You Want to Ask Policymakers. The winner of Best Question will win a Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera.
You can submit a comment at the site, or tweet them at @takeus2college.


Here is a link to the Take American to College New Contest page:
Tell Us What You Want to Ask Policymakers

Here is what happened already with the first contest:
Vote for the Best Student Videos
The Online Casting Call: January, 2010

More Nontrad links:

The Nontrad site and blog
Nontrads on Facebook
Nontrads on Twitter

There are no stupid questions.

Motivation for the shy - you CAN ask that question.

"I'm always available," one teacher said to our class. "My door is always open." 

But when I was younger, I was afraid to go to that door, step into it, and ask a question. I thought I was too stupid... that my question was one that everyone else knew. I just couldn't do it.

The second time around (back in school again) I felt a lot less shy about going to the teacher and asking a question if I didn't understand something - a due date, how to arrange a folder - anything I was curious about. It was easy... most teachers let you ask questions right after class, and often it didn't take long to feel good about knowing what to do on an assignment.

The first time I was in school I was just a teenager. That time was a lot different. I was so shy back then. I was cowed by the university teachers, and felt that if I didn't understand everything the very first time, that was my own tough luck. I felt lowly compared to the lofty teachers at college. I don't think I ever went to see a professor after class, or went to their office.

I felt like my questions would be stupid ones. Or maybe the teacher would say, "Weren't you listening in class? I already talked about that!" I would be humiliated.

Of course, all this was pure fantasy on my part. No doubt most of my teachers would have been very glad to help.

Here are a few things new nontraditional students can learn from my mistakes.

1. There are no stupid questions. Often, you are not the only one with the questions you have for a teacher. The other people just are too shy to ask.

2. You will feel a LOT better after clarifying things with your teachers. It's worth your peace of mind to ask that question you have. No more worrying about it! You can heave a sigh of relief afterwards.

3. Knowing the due date of an assignment, how the teacher wants it done, etc. will help you so much. It may give you a better grade too.

4. After you have tried asking a question the first time, it will be easier the next time. Just give yourself that first-time push, and force yourself to do it. You will be glad you did.

Does this help? I hope so. Remember, lots of people have the same fears that you do. Going through it and following up on your questions can do you a LOT of good and help you in so many ways.

All for now,
-Betsyanne

 Some of my other nontraditional student links:

The Nontrad site and blog
Nontrads on Facebook (join us!)
Nontrads on Twitter (follow me!)

A Nontrad Story - Michelle at Cornell

What is in this blog entry: Michelle Y. Talbert tells about some of her experiences as a nontraditional student at Cornell. Michelle doesn't know if she really fits in at first. She feels like she might not belong there. 

She struggles with feelings that she is not good enough, not educated enough. Then she realizes that these first impressions are not actually true ones. 

A Homer by Another Name: A Tale of the First Day of School for a Nontraditional Student by Michelle Y. Talbert.

This is a great article. It tells a story about a nontraditional student and her feelings about being at Cornell. She ran the gamut of feelings from "great triumph" to "utter despair."
Here is a quote from her article:


"You must do whatever it takes so that you may continue to walk the path, however winding it may be, to achieve the goal set before you."

She was at a community college first, and then transferred. This is a fun article, and worth a look.

Here is the article link:
http://www.studentsover30.com/columns/student-stories/a-homer-by-another-name-a-tale-of-the-first-day-of-school-for-a-nontraditional-student/

Find out more:
The Cornell Mature Students Association (2002)
Student Highlights - Cornell - Kathleen Brown (a member of the Cornell Mature Students Assoc.)
Scroll down on this page for a description of Cornell's Mature Student Assoc.

All for now,
-Betsyanne

Some of my links!
The Nontrad site and blog
The Betsyanne page and blog
My Squidoo Pages and referral

Nontrads and User Groups - a great combination

Hi again, fellow nontraditional students.


I recently wrote a posting here on the Nontraditional Student Blog about Computers and Nontraditional students. I talked about how hard it is sometimes for nontraditional students to learn about computers. Here they are, in school, and they HAVE to know computers. It can cause some real problems for them.

Their fellow students have grown up with computers, but they haven't. They might not even be able to type very well. What can they do?

I had a great comment (thanks, Tina) about this blog entry. Here it is:

It is really hard for a lot of older people going back to school to get the hang of using the computers. We just changed our computer systems at the public library and so many people are having trouble adjust from the 2003versions of the Microsoft programs to the 2007 versions. Even our staff, especially the older members of staff are having a hard time. The kids are fine with it because they use it at school. I wish there would be more places people could take computer classes (full-scale besides the short ones we offer at the library) without the high cost that a lot of the colleges are charging.

What a great comment. It made me think. I am in a Microcomputer User Group called BGAMUG. This stands for the Bowling Green (KY) Microcomputer User's Group. It has been around since the first computers came out. Like other User Groups, they have classes for people who are absolute beginners and charge little or no money for them.

These User Group classes would be perfect for nontraditional students. Do you have a local User Group in your area? Do you or somebody you know need computer help?

Here is a good first step - look up your area on this website: the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG) Group Search Page. There's a good chance there is a group near you. Also, try Googling the terms "Computer User Group" and your city or town.

And thanks again for the great comment, Tina. It led to an "aha" moment for people who might really benefit from a good (and cheap!) computer class.

Nontraditionally Yours,

-Betsyanne

My original posting: The Computer and the Nontraditional Student 

My other sites:

The Nontrad site and blog
The Betsyanne page and blog
My Squidoo Pages and referral

Self-Esteem and how to get it!

I am not smart enough.
I just can't do the things others can do.
Nobody likes me.
I am ugly/stupid/ and unworthy.
I will never be able to do what I want to do.
I will never succeed at anything.

These are pretty serious things to say! And they are not true.

Sometimes I guess everyone gets down on themselves. But sometimes this can happen every day. It can get to be part of your life. If you find yourself believing all the time that you are worthless and are depressed about it, you could have low self-esteem or other problems that take reality and make it into something hurtful and totally not true.

Low self-esteem can interfere with your life. You can start making a wall with it too - - a wall you can't climb over. And it can make doing things like going back to school or succeeding there almost impossible.

Something I read once made a big impression. The author said that if somebody else said mean things to somebody you cared about, you would tell that person, "Hey, stop it! That person is my friend and does not deserve to be talked about like that." But are we kind to ourselves like that? No!

Too often, we say really mean things to ourselves! And we don't deserve that. I know that this does not make much sense, because being mean to yourself and unforgiving of yourself only makes things worse. It can make us see a warped picture of ourselves and a warped picture of reality. It can stop us from doing things that make us happy.

Dr. Wayne Dyer, the famous self-help guru and bestselling author, also zeroed in on this problem in at least one of his books.

Here is something that can help you: if you find yourself being ultra-hard on yourself, (and sometimes I do that too)... remember that everyone makes mistakes, making mistakes is part of what makes us human.

If you talk down to yourself by saying negative things to yourself, it puts you and your life in a rut.  Here is one of Dr. Dyer's quotes that illustrates this perfectly:

“Self-worth comes from one thing -- thinking that you are worthy.”

One suggestion: try to say one positive thing about yourself for each negative thing you catch yourself saying to yourself. Try doing this for a whole day - then a whole week - then all the time.

You could find after awhile you will be a lot happier.

Find out more by reading some more articles:

From the Nontrad Blog:
How to be your own cheerleader
10 Motivational Tips for the Nontraditional Student

and here are some more from other people:
Self-esteem and the College Student by Joe Shearer
Is your Self-Esteem Low? (from Miles College, Alabama)
Self-esteem, and how to raise it (from Clarkson College, Nebraska)
Listen to Dr. Wayne Dyer on YouTube - the Kitten and the Alley Cat

Nontraditionally Yours,

-Betsyanne

The Nontrad site and blog
The Betsyanne page and blog
My Squidoo Pages and referral

The Computer and the Nontraditional Student

I was so nervous. My boss said, "Here it is!" And there on my desk was something completely new to me. It was a computer, complete with programs I had no idea how to use. "Now, learn it!" was the second thing he said, then left.

The first day, I kept doing something wrong. The screen would go blank, and I would lose everything I had typed. What in the world was I doing wrong? It was very frustrating.

Somehow I managed to learn the programs on my new computer. But it would have been so much easier if I'd had something (or someone!) to help me with it. Now I love computers. But back then, I was afraid of them.

Nontraditional students who are older (maybe 45 and older?) sometimes can have trouble in school just because they don't know how to use a computer correctly. Sure, there are computer labs, and people are willing to help, but most of the older students I have met would rather take a beginning computer course or typing class.

Once I had somebody tell me, "I wish I'd taken a brush-up class on my typing. Now that I am in school it is too late." Well... that person did have a hard time. One class they were taking was speech class, and they were required to type up their assignments. I think the teacher let them write them in longhand. But not all teachers are as accommodating.

One solution: have entering nontraditional students be able to take a refresher course and a basic computing class - IF they need it. They will be more prepared then. Even better, new older students could brush up on typing and take an intro computer class before they start school.

All for now,
-Betsyanne



Some of my links!
The Nontrad site and blog
The Betsyanne page and blog
My Squidoo Pages and referral