Adults' Pursuit of Education: A Personal Analysis

Introduction

It is increasingly becoming common for adults to decide it is time to go back to class. The motivations vary from one individual to another. They may include changing career fields, qualifying for promotion, change of career path, making more money pursuing further education, or even just the curiosity to acquire basic knowledge. Going back to school as an adult is different from going to school traditionally within the typical age bracket. The discussion is an analysis of my life story as a woman who decided to go back to school because I wanted to achieve my dreams.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Concrete Experience

On 12th January 2019, the list for 2019 graduates is out on the notice board. I went to check through the list from the top with my mouth wide open, and my heart was throbbing against my chest. I could not see my name. Why? How? Could this be a wrong list? Those are the questions that kept ringing in my mind as I stare at the list. I later resolve to check from the bottom. I have never searched her name in the pass list from the bottom since I believed don't belong there. To my surprise, I read me by name, boldly written at the bottom of the list. My name has the lowest GPA points. Dreams shattered.

"I am going back to school." That is the statement I made as a thirty-nine-year-old woman who is a single parent with two children she got as a result of early marriage then joined school twelve years later. I have been a hard-working lady both in school and at home. Despite being a full-time student, parent, and casual worker in a fast-food restaurant in town, I had a dream to become a professor. I had the burning desire to learn without limit.

Reflective Observation

The real experience relates to class content since it teaches self-motivation. Concerning communication, this is a form of personal communication made self. I chose to go back to school without listening to any motivational speaker or adviser but myself. Self-motivation is essential when it comes to making crucial decisions in life, such as pursuing our dreams. The motivation must come from within before you listen to external motivation for one to make progress and achieve one's goals. Challenges are present and may cause one to try giving up, but when what is within is stronger than what is outside, the one overcomes the challenges.

During the experience, my behavior reflected my response toward the situation. I can say my behavior was positive. It's evident that even though the results were a complete opposite of whatever I expected and worked for, I choose not to complain or file an appeal for the investigation of the matter. I accept the outcome and think of what next. The bold step is necessary for one's daily life as it relieves one of the past and gives one a new focus and a new beginning. Despite that, I fail to agree as to why I did not follow up on the issue to know why it happened even if I don't get to know how part of it.

Classmates' response to the feedback is encouraging. They compliment me on being a go-getter without looking back and admires the character. They consistently ask me how I feel being in class with teenagers, yet I am a thirty-nine-year-old woman. Some do not understand and cannot imagine themselves in such a course if they could be of my age. The experience makes others also to love my passion and motivate them to pursue their dreams fearlessly. In general, sharing of knowledge has been beneficial to most people who read it. It has brought an impact on their lives by influencing their behavior and reaction towards circumstances.

The elements of real experience are: It is time-bound, involves an event, and has participants. The concrete experience had a time in which it occurred, which is 12th January 2019. The experience is the event that took place which is an academic failure. The pain and disappointed that accompanies it is what gives me the drive to go back to school as an adult irrespective of all I have been through and my old age. I am the participant of the event as the victim. The elements of the real experience are essential as they are what form the real experience.

The challenges of my experience were solved. The main challenge arising from the concrete experience was balancing my responsibilities as an employee, a parent, and also a student. I talked to my boss at work, and he allowed me to work half a day, and then I also requested evening classes to find time for all the responsibilities I was required to undertake. It has helped me balance all aspects of my life, and I am grateful to my boss for understanding my situation and also the school for offering me, evening classes.

My concrete experience at the moment is a past event, and I can address it is as an eye-opener. The experience opened my eyes and made me see my true capability and how strong I am. It's a past I embrace and always form my reference point when I feel discouraged or when I am motivating people who are going through hard times and also those who have passion for going back to school to achieve their dreams but are limited by age. It is a sign that however dark the situation may be, there is always hope. Remembering the experience makes me smile rather than shading tears because I had accepted and moved on.

Abstract Conceptualization

During this semester, I want to learn more about life's unfairness and acceptance. At times, things happen in our lives that are shocking, scary, hurting, or even ones that people cannot understand. Individuals mostly conclude that life is unfair. I want to examine more and find out if indeed life is always unfair or it is us who makes life unreasonable. Concerning acceptance, I also have the desire to learn more about if one should always accept everything happening in their lives or are there some that need thorough investigation before deciding to accept. The two concepts are what my heart desires to learn this semester.

Life unfairness and acceptance are related to the theories learned in class. The injustice of life refers to the method that one's definition of life depends on how one perceives it. If one sees life as being unfair, then that he will experience the unfairness of life, but if one looks at life in the angle that it has good things to offer, then that's how the individual's life becomes (Stice 294). Changes in an individual's mindset can assist in getting past life's hardship and move on with life. One need to choose to get past unfairness of life since fair is not a general concept, keeping the past makes one powerless, and the negative thoughts inhibit positive change.

Accepting life is acknowledging what one's life entails and what it brings. Many challenges happen in life, and it is difficult to embrace them when we are suffering, and wishing things would not have happened. If we begin cultivating acceptance in our lives, then we would be able to manage future challenges by viewing them from different perspectives. We, therefore, get to learn approval and not rejection. When something happens that we cannot reverse, acceptance will help us cope with it instead of constant fights to try and change things.

Learning objectives that will help in organizing literature review are problem-solving and practical exercises, e.g. making a presentation. For instance, Kolb's cycle starts with an experience that is concrete. Therefore, it starts with doing an act in which an organization or a group of people are given a responsibility. In regards to learning, it becomes an active involvement. In the model, to have an effective learning organization or group of individuals are expected to act as they cannot learn by merely reading or watching about it.

In the Journal of Education system information, a study was performed on combining Kolb's learning cycle and problem-solving of Huber, a neutral attempt to balance problem-solving, which is technical. The study's objective was to develop a system and better the technical issues, which include, subnetting of network. The study was experimental. They solved the network portion problem, gave a visual representation of processes as highlighted in problem-solving processes through tapping a keyboard (Frosch 12). Regarding the model made by Kolb, both the abstract and concrete representations of the portion of network problems were experimented to find out whether the type of problem laid out made the performance better.

The absolute fact and the loss of bearing of psychic hurt on Psychoanalytic ideas on experience, which is concrete, things are presented the way they occur, and the belief is the same such that there is no contradiction to the ideas. Even though the convictions based on our own immediate experience or thoughts, the statement can boost one's confidence. When a group or organization have a similar perspective of the globe, people's belief takes the principles that are not easily convinced. It forces the other ideas and ideas to be deleted. Symbolism resembles concreteness. The counterpart to concreteness is symbolism, a situation where an event can be viewed from many perspectives (Gould et al.).

Communication services brief history concerning critical reflections, concrete experience, and also according to communication services studies, some ideas are presented on the improvement of technologies and services over the networks. In view of research work done years ago, the services were viewed as an important progress in internet connection. Even though development has been disappointing irrespective of the initial success, most of the software and services have been discontinued (Lepori et al. 149).

Active Experimentation

When writing the experimental paper, I had some weaknesses and strengths. During the writing process, my leaning accelerated and retention of the critical points. The engagement enhanced my knowledge and skills. Experimental learning also allowed practicing and developing attitudes such as tenacity, resilience, self-direction, and curiosity as some of the strengths contained in an experimental paper. The major weakness of the empirical paper I experienced while writing is that it slows down learning. Even though there are both weaknesses and strengths, the strengths are more than shortcomings in an experimental paper (Sharlanova 55).

If I had to start the project over, I would still do the same work I have done but maybe improve it much better. Since I am confident that I have presented the word as per the specifications and instructions, there is nothing I would do differently if I had to start over. Maybe if I were asked to add more concrete experiences, I would add some or change the one I have written. Not because I don't like the practical experience I have written about, but because I have many real experiences to share with the world.

My perspective in my real experience has changed in the manner in which I handle such encounters. It taught me a lesson that a problem that does not kill me makes me stronger. The experience made me stronger and confident in life with hopes that even if I get in dark situations, away will come. The insight of embracing everything that happens in life through acceptance and moving on without looking backward relieves one of the negative emotions by bringing positive changes. It also changed my perspective of life by focusing on the fairness of life and not the unfairness, which makes people stuck in their breaking moments without moving on.

In a new setting, I will apply the lessons learned in conducting motivational talk in various forums and also make personal visits. Through doing motivational speeches, I believe it will relieve a significant percentage of those who are dying in d...