June 28, 2007

Back to school?

Doing the research for my turtle posts took me back a few years. I first learned how to use identification keys when I was studying for a degree in Integrated Pest Management. I really loved that program. I aced all of my entomlogy, vertebrate pest and pest control courses. Chemisty and trig, not so much, but I did well in various English and psyche courses. My one semester of OSHA studies was fun and I’d have taken advanced studies in that if they’d been available to me. I learned a lot about workplace safety and how to write and implement an OSHA-compliant safety program. I had to memorize a lot of govenment double-speak and acronyms. The course even included the history of govenrnment safety laws, like the Miners Health and Safety Act and the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, which helped pave the way to uniform safety standards in industry. I found the whole thing fascinating, and the information came in handy a few years later when I was required to write a safety handbook and training program for a national company. The history fascintated me more than the practical applications, though.

I never finished my degree program. I had to drop for a semester to deal with some family problems. When the next semester started the IPM program had been dropped from the course catalog and was only available to students who had been active the previous semester (the one that I missed.) I’ve studied pest control all of these years, of course, in order to comply with continuing education requirements for licensing, but somewhere along the line I’ve lost my hankering for the degree that I almost had. I work for myself. A degree no longer holds the power to open doors with prospective employers. If I were to go back to school today it would be for personal satisfaction and my studies would something totally unrelated to my career. Hawaiian studies would be at the top of my list. I love the history and culture of this magical place and hunger to know more. I doubt that I could afford the degree programs available at University of Hawaii, but I think most of the community colleges offer Hawaiian studies. I don’t have an infinite number of tomorrows, and am well aware that most of my life is behind me. I think it’s time to get myself in gear and start reaching for that dream.

What about you? Would you go back to school for any reason other than career advancement? If you did, what would you study? Would you be seeking a degree, or studying merely for the love of knowledge? Do you have any experience with going back to school at an advanced age that you’d be willing to share?

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