Crystal Fullerton Fine Art

Spy 16x12 oil portrait

This is the second version of the mare I painted. I like both. Which do you prefer?

Today was an interesting day. I have a friend who is trying very hard to get into nursing school and there is a course that is giving her some troubles. I guess it is not "some" troubles but alot of troubles and her fear of receiving a passing grade is beginning to stress her out. In every major conceivable way.

I thought alot about her troubles today and how her plans for a new future are hitting a rough patch. I know in the end she will achieve her goal. She is a natural "nurse". Even if she doesn't believe in herself I do. She is a determined smart woman who is very focused. That focus can carry people over mountains.

Sometimes that journey to our goals gets pretty rocky. Sometimes we can't see those rocks and we continue on because it is expected of us. Society today demands that you "suck it up" and continue on regardless of the pain it causes you. So you keep walking on that rocky road, your feet are torn and bloody but your smiling because you're expected to be a team player.

I think this is a ridiculous notion. Not the team player part but the continuing on in a miserable situation instead of saying

"Enough is enough. I hate this situation and I am not going to take it anymore."

As a mature student my friend is putting alot on the line. She knows her present situation is not the right path for her and she has made a choice to go another route. Even though this new route is fraught with financial difficulties, family stresses and huge nagging moments of self doubt all combined with college systems that do not support mature students with bursaries and a student aid system set up to aid only 18-21 year old mature students still struggle forward.

Why?

My own personal opinion is that mature students have learned they have value. They are a resource that is being left untapped and previous employers have lost sight of or neglected to use this important sector of their business. Neglect and abandonment causes people to become restless and mobile.

The local College in my area has an increasing enrollment and the latest numbers are to my mind rather shocking. Forty percent of the student body is mature. Mature being someone who has already graduated high school and has entered the workforce. Forty percent is huge.

Our college is small with an enrollment of 1000 students but let's put this in perspective for you. Forty percent of 1000 is 400.

That is 400 individuals who have left the workforce.

That is 400 previously trained mature responsible employees who are no longer in the workplace. Does their employer miss them? You bet he does.

If you were to hear on the news that a company shut down putting 400 local people out of work wouldn't that raise your hackles? It should. I'll bet some of you have even been involved in protests about lost jobs, but where is the support for the mature student returning to school?

Mature students who enter the education system are a welcome change to the professors who find their focus and determination an enjoyable change to the self righteous indifference of many of the young people. Mature students are more apt to volunteer in school organizations lending an experienced ear and voice of wisdom. Mature students know they have value yet here they become just as neglected as they were in the "real" world.

The demographics of our society are changing just like the enrollment of colleges but there is little in the ways of aid for them. Society feels that their assets should be liquidated, all their earnings, in some cases decades worth, should be given up to fuel their educational dreams. Mature students have families who live in those "liquidatable" assets.

Mature students have already proven they are reliable and trustworthy as they have extensive credit histories. Why not give them aid? You know they will pay you back. They have already proven they can.

With our aging demographic approaching record numbers of people leaving the workforce to enter into retirement, who is going to replace all that lost knowledge? Has no one considered this hidden segment of society? Would raising a cry of age discrimination get you booed out of a debate?

My friend has another 34 years of work history ahead of her yet she is trying to enter into and complete her nursing degree completely unaided. Our country is going to need new educated faces like hers in the workplace. Ones with a few years of real life experiences to me would seem like a great investment.

When you graduated high school 45 years of work experience seemed like a lot. Any 18 year old will agree there is little difference between 45 and 34. To them that is a long time. So why has it become acceptable to ignore an ever growing segment of our society that realizes their true value and is determined to better themselves? Their efforts not only help them personally but their efforts ensure their communities are filled with knowledgeable people who can afford to stay in the Maritimes and resist the cry of "Go West Young Man".

Did I waste an afternoon considering the trials and tribulations of mature students?

I think not.

There are 400 of them in our community right now contemplating the results of their actions. It took 300 Spartans to leave their mark on history, imagine what these 400 could do.