Anticipating Challenges
...ders. One of the most fearsome issues that I am dealing with is the fact that I have not been in college in almost six years. A lot has changed in the college lifestyles. The academic requirements have changed somewhat. Different colleges require different grade point averages. They require different pre-requisites in order to even be accepted. The teaching methods have had some changes due to the everyday change of certain studies. A great example is the traditional student versus the non-traditional student. The traditional student attends a college classroom and undergoes the normal lectures and testing sequences. A non-traditional student can take their classes through the internet, phone conference, or even teleconference. The traditional student has the benefit of the Anticipated Challenges 4 one-on-one experience with the instructor and can get immediate answers to any questions. Time Management Among changes of the routine comes the sudden change of time management. I have had to adjust my time accordingly for studying, classroom discussion, personal assignments, and team assignments. If I fail to manage my time, I will be in a hurry to learn and end up either missing valid points or not applying myself properly in class. Most of all, if I do not manage my time I will not learn. One of the most important things that I have to manage is my study time. I have had to organize my study time where it is a quiet setting. I can not study in a room filled with excitement. I must have total concentration on the articles I read or I am not able to comprehend. When discussion questions are asked, I have to concentrate and give the best answers to the appropriate questions. Fear of Failure The fear of failure is always a factor in my learning. I have to constantly remind myself the classes I will be attending are just small steps leading up to a huge Anticipated Challenges 5 reward. In those small steps I am taking, I learn from mistakes and gain the ability to understand the subject matter. If I get something wrong in answer to a question or if I make constant mistakes in a term paper, I have to remember to accept the criticism and corrections in order to learn. Being responsible and having the motivation to learn will help make the fear of failure disappear. As long as I put in my 110% effort, I will not have any problems accomplishing my goal. In the virtual classroom environment, it is necessary for me to work together with other students to keep the morale high and accomplish the tasks given to us. Just because a person may not like another for his opinions, we must respect them and consider the ideas presented. The fear of failure will be administered if we do not accept the idea. Practical Application in the Workforce Why does a person go to college and work at the same time? Most people say the reason is to pay for the college. In my case, my goal is to better myself in the daily tasks given to me in the working...