I learned through twittermoms.com that Care.com is running a sweepstakes contest where the grand prize is a cash prize worth $12, 445. This amount represents what it would cost the average family  to pay for year’s worth of child care for two young children. Care.com offers “mom-reviewed” babysitters and nannies. Twittermoms is also running a contest in conjunction with Care.com to win a premium membership for one month’s service at Care.com. You can find more details here.

Good luck, everyone! I know how expensive childcare is, and I would love for one of my readers to win this terrific prize.

Today, we have a guest post from a back to school dad! A. Brewer was laid off after a 22-year career with GM, and decided that online education was the right choice for him to begin a new career. Read on for his take on what it takes to be successful at online education:

Swimming Against the Online Currents – A Baby Boomer Dad Goes Back to School!
By A. Brewer

So here you are, at 1 a.m. in the morning, wondering if an online degree will make a difference to your situation. You are a tired, worried, Dad, and have just been laid off from GM after working for 22 years on the assembly line. You think to yourself, can I still learn? Will my brain respond? Where do I begin again in this Job market? No one wants to interview me with only a high school diploma, they want at least an Associate or bachelors before I can get an interview.

Even with 22 years of experience. Where do I look for a course? Community college? Local University? Online programs? What course? What about Accreditation? I still have to get some immediate work, anything to support my family. Maybe some constructions work from FEMA while I travel to another state? Hmmm yes, and then I can register for an online course? Yes maybe that’s it! Yes that’s it! But uhmmm can I still learn…I am a baby boomer generation daddy, I wonder what research has found out…well where can I start with looking for an online course. Do they qualify for financial aid? What will I study? Can I handle it!

All these questions are valid and make sense! Yes you can still learn and excel at it too! I will address that in another article. Recent brain research by an expert in the field, (Marian Cleeves Diamond) has proven that adult learners continue to learn as long as the nerve cells are challenged, the brain is enriched, use it or loose it! With 22 years of real life work experience you may be able to get some life experience credit!

The online modality will be great for you if you can say yes to the following:

• Can you work and study independently without supervision?

• Do you have good reading and comprehension skills? (Most online programs involve reading,

understanding, synthesis and application of the material).

• Are you self disciplined and can manage your time within reason?

• Can you stay motivated without a cheer leader?

• Do you enjoy learning, especially when it is related to some of your past experience?

If the answer to these questions is predominantly yes, then you are a good candidate for online education. Most community colleges and universities now have programs and courses available online. Also, there are universities that have continuous programs that run throughout the year and you do not have to wait till the next semester, you can start as soon as you are ready!

The next step is to think carefully and decide what course or program would you like to enroll in and what prospects this will bring. You are on your way into a new and exciting journey! In my next article we will look at how to choose a program and college that meets your academic and situational needs. Hang In There! You can do This!

A. Brewer

http://www.myonlineedu.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=A._Brewer
http://EzineArticles.com/?Swimming-Against-the-Online-Currents—A-Baby-Boomer-Dad-Goes-Back-to-School!&id=2976879

One of the most common mistakes new college writers make in literature courses is that they produce a plot summary, not a thesis for their essays. When you produce a plot summary, you are only regurgitating the author’s words about the events in the story.  When you actually write a thesis, you are creating an explanation of why the author wrote what they wrote, and about the writing devices they used to create the piece of literature. In other words, you are answering a big question about the work, not just creating a synopsis.

For example, if I was writing about the novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, I might create a thesis about how as the Joad family moves west to California, Pa’s role of family leader gradually being taken over by Ma symbolizes the upheavals workers were facing at the time the novel was written. I might also compare the severe economic crisis we are now facing to the conditions faced by workers in the 1930’s and compare and contrast them as a subsection to my thesis.

The possibilities are endless for a thesis; however, usually we are given specific prompts to write from for essay assignments. Read them carefully, and evaluate what your professor is looking for. Professors all have certain themes that they like to stress in class–you must be ready to pick up on these and use them to your full advantage when writing your essays.  Now, I’m not saying to attempt to recreate your professor’s take on any specific subject word-for-word; but I am saying to be smart and don’t deliberately try and contradict everything your prof has expounded upon or you may find yourself with a disappointing grade. Try to find some middle ground to write from.

The best way to approach writing a thesis is to ask a question, then attempt to answer it. In the example from The Grapes of Wrath, I would ask myself why Steinbeck’s characters underwent the changes they did, and how this contributed to the overall message of the novel. Writers almost never write detail in a novel, short story or poem randomly; it’s our job as readers to ask questions why the writers use the specific literary devices available to them to create enduring understandings of our human nature through literature.

So for goodness (and grades!) sake, take the time and thought necessary to develop a good thesis. It’s the key to learning to write well about literature.  The same skills can be used for many humanities courses as well. If you are having difficulty with developing your thesis, check and see if your college or university offers a writing lab. These are staffed by specially trained students who are strong writers and will be able to help you develop a thesis.