Progress Report for the Post-Secondary Education of Corrie Brown

This was an assignment for my COMM class that I decided to post as a blog. Hopefully I don't come off as too bitter ...


Three short years ago, I enrolled in my first semester of college; four on-campus classes, and one practicum. I was two years out of high school, and the options were simple: get a job, or go to school. I chose the lesser of two evils.

While initially preferring to take Psychology, I was told that I did not have the pre-requisites to enter the degree program. After following shoddy advice from a home economics teacher (lesson learned), I chose to switch out of Pure Math and into Applied Math, since I would only require Math 20 - of any kind - to graduate. I completed Applied Math 20, and graduated high school on schedule. Two years later, I was informed that to get a degree in Psychology, I would need Pure Math 30 on my transcripts; there being a statistics course in the degree program, after all. That was awesome …

Giving up my dream - temporarily - of Psychology, I decided to switch to Early Learning and Child Care. It was only a two-year program, and in that time I could upgrade my math. Sounds like a plan, right?
I applied for my funding, nervous about the cost of tuition and books, and was pleasantly surprised when I was approved for $3000.00 per semester. After being forced to quit my lovely cashier’s job at Walmart for having excessive Strep Throat, Candida, and an overall lack of desire to be there, 3000 bucks for three months of school sounded pretty awesome. Paying off student loans? I’d just deal with that later.

First day of class came and went, leaving me feeling a little less nervous after discovering that my teacher was an old classmate’s mom. I made a few friends, won a gift certificate door prize, and went home with a cheery “First Day of College” poster. I wasn’t crazy about my actual classes, but college seemed fun so far.
My classes seemed relatively easy, but I was concerned about my practicum. Two days a week with some twenty-odd kids I’d never met? A tad nerve-wracking. Having to have an activity ready to go, for my very first day? Terrifying. I chose to defer my practicum, wanting to get a little knowledge under my belt before confronting the mass of snotty noses and “why” questions. Yet another decision I ended up regretting, but we’ll get to that later.

I dropped one class by the add-drop date, though I should have dropped two. Unfortunately, with it being my first semester of college, I wasn’t acquainted with the “proper channels”, so to speak. We had recently moved out to Sylvan Lake, and even though we’d filled out our Change of Address forms, some of our mail was still going to our old address. I lost two tax credit checks, as well as my official High School Transcripts. I was told by the registrars that I only needed to take COMM 150 if I didn’t have a mark above 60 in English 30. Once they got my transcripts, I would be taken out of the class. … Their exact words: “I would be taken out of the class”. To a first-year college student, that meant they would sort it all out once they got my transcripts. I didn’t attend a single COMM 150 class, because I knew my English 30-1 grade was well above 60. It was over a year later that I discovered I was never taken out of COMM 150, and as a result, had an F on my college transcripts. I was less than pleased, but that was only the beginning.

After completing my first year of Early Learning and Child Care - and discovering that my first practicum was certainly nothing to fear - I was genuinely excited about the turn my life was taking. It turned out I was actually kind of awesome at taking care of/playing with children. It’s a lot easier hearing things like “is there a baby in your belly?” and “do you have chicken pox?” from children, than it is from your peers. I loved that children had no censor button; I loved their limitless curiosity about the world around them.

I knew that I would have to complete a couple first year courses before I could receive my certificate - my second practicum, as well as Guiding Behavior (ELCC 217). At our year-end pizza party, I made time to speak to the Chair of my program about doing some spring courses. That was when I got the bombshell about my COMM course. “There seems to be a problem with your transcripts, Corrie,” she told me. “You don’t have a COMM course completed.” My response was simply, “I don’t need to take COMM 150, I had well over 60 in English 30.” She stared at me like I was an alien. “Yes, but you still need to have a COMM course to complete your first year. It’s part of the program.” My reaction was not, shall we say, admirable. Quite frankly, I blew a gasket. I yelled and screamed, and all-but tore my hair out. “Are you sh--ing me? Why the hell can’t anyone at this college give me a straight f---ing answer? Everyone has two different sets of information, how the hell am I expected to know which way is up!” I went on and on. I was told that I could take a COMM course in the spring, and be ready to start my second year in the fall. I was annoyed - to say the least - but I agreed.

I decided to take COMM 250 - I didn’t need to learn basic grammar and sentence structure, I’d done that in primary school. COMM 250 was a nice break from the rest of my studies. It seemed as though I was one of the few students in the class who knew the difference between “you’re” and “your”. Our teacher took us to online postings and dating sites, where we mocked the poster’s horrible spelling and grammar. I was in heaven. I completed my second practicum in the spring, and got the required COMM course on my transcripts. Everything seemed to be on schedule.

Is anything ever that easy?

Once our second year started up, I had to have a discussion with the new Chair. Yes, I’d completed my second practicum, and yes, I’d completed my COMM course, but I still had Guiding Behavior 217 to complete. It was against protocol to be enrolled in any second-year courses when the first-year courses weren’t completed. I managed to restrain my temper tantrum this time, but just barely. After some fist-and-jaw clenching, I worked it out with the Chairperson that I would defer my practicum and drop one second-year class, while still maintaining my three-course requirement for a full-time student loan. I was informed that I would be on something akin to academic probation, where the Chairperson and my teachers would be keeping an eye on my progress in their classes, and once the withdrawal date came close, they would decide if my grades were such that I could continue regularly, or if I would need to withdraw from my classes. This seemed to be reasonable, until I found out a student in a similar situation as me was allowed to take her practicum, as well as all of her second-year courses.

I completed all of my courses for the semester - successfully - and was ready to complete my last course and practicum in the Fall 2011 semester. I discovered that I could take my last class online, was assured that I would get a practicum in Sylvan Lake, and was finally enrolled in psychology. (Insert next rant here: I also discovered when registering for my third-year classes, that I didn’t actually need Pure Math 30 at the start of my psychology courses, after all. I could upgrade as I went. Two years later, I get this information. Isn’t that awesome?) Anyway, I was registered and ready to go for the semester, when I heard back from my local library. I had applied for a job there, and they wanted to interview me. I was ecstatic - first because it was one of my childhood dream jobs, and also because I hadn’t had a real job since Walmart - and eagerly attended the interview. I got the job a few days later. All that was left was to work out my schedule. They were willing to work around my school schedule, I just hoped that my practicum was as well.

Enter the next hurdle in my career as a student. In order to be in my final practicum, I would need to commit to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. As understanding as the library was, they weren’t willing to be that flexible with my schedule. Three years down the road, and I was faced with the same decision once again: get a job, or go to school. This time, though, I wanted both.

In the end, it was more important for me to be working, than it was to complete my last practicum. I dropped the practicum and registered for COMM 150 - ready to wipe that ridiculous F off my transcripts - so that I could keep my three-course requirement for a full-time loan. Now it’s November, and the semester is just about over.

I’ve come a long way since my first semester at Red Deer College. I’ve learned not to trust anything unless I’ve heard it from at least three different “professionals”, I’ve learned that I have a fierce love for children, and that part-time schooling is definitely the way to go. Most of all, I’ve found my once-lost love for education. Will my built-up loans be worth it in the end? I don’t know. Right now, I’m loving it, and that’s all that matters.