Back to School...

But this old lady's not feelin' it. While my classmates are comparing their summer tans and latest internship adventures, I'm trying to fight the Totalitarian system.

I'm one of the older students with prior professional and life experience, but went back to school to get a degree for something that really interested me. My old life in Insurance was not my bag and after being forced to take a photo of a man's bruised hiney for a grocery store claim, I knew it was time to move on. Thus two years ago, I went back to school and entered the Totalitarian regime we call University.

So far, I've been short changed on transfer credits, received the same grades from certain professors regardless of the quality or amount of effort invested, did a 1.5 year internship I didn't receive credit for - even though that's a credited course in 4th year, and recently, been told that despite the fact that I launched a company this summer the university does not offer work credits. Hello, I'm in a media program! Though they teach courses totally applicable to what I did this summer, it somehow it does not apply (but you can buy an honorary degree if you donate a bunch of money to the school or someone else does on your behalf).

The fees are structured so that you pay a flat fee for a block of 5-7 courses. So the person with 5 courses is paying the same as someone with 7. The person who takes 4 courses or less gets dinged with a reduced course load fee. What?? Who ever heard of paying extra for NOT taking a class? That's just some of the prevailing logic that students are forced to deal with.

I often hear my classmates defending the regime saying with wide-eyed wonder, "This is how it will be in the REAL world!" Not so, people. In the real world, most human beings are capable of making decisions on a case-by-case basis instead of one list of universal rules that apply to everything.

Don't get me wrong; I believe a university education is critical to get ahead in life. Without that piece of paper no one will take you seriously, and it will improve your grammar.

All I'm asking for is a little common sense.


P.S Yesterday I received a letter in the mail congratulating me on being in the top 15% of my faculty/major program. I was pretty excited until I read further and found out that all I was getting was an invitation to join the Golden Key Honour Society for the low, low price of $90.00 plus $25 for a Lapel Pin (Gee, that'll come in handy!) and $4.50 for a Certificate of Membership. So the reward for all of my hard work is that I get to pay more money!

I think I'll pass...