Don't You Want to Be in School Again?

I just returned home from picking my daughter up from college for Thanksgiving break. (I should post a blog entry about my numerous mishaps with getting lost when I travel -- as I did on this trip where I found myself in the "Land of Lincoln" instead of Bloomington, IN; even though I had driven the correct route numerous times).

I always enjoy the opportunity to be on a college campus, even for a brief moment. There is something exciting to me about being in a place where there is such a wonderful opportunity for gaining knowledge and insight on fascinating subjects.

On the four and a-half hour drive home, my daughter shared with me some of the activities and topics occurring in her classes. Her "Introduction to Journalism and Mass Communications" class is particularly interesting to me. Her professor has brought in speakers from NPR (one of my favorite radio stations, especially the News and Notes and Fresh Air programs), the PR department of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Federal Trade Commission.

My daughter enjoys her class called "Current Issues in Undergraduate Life: Black Greek Community." This class seems to give a great perspective on the history and purpose of Black Greek fraternities and sororities. I used to get asked all the time about the difference between my sorority and white sororities. While I enjoy highlighting the great work we do and our focus on such important things as community service, education and economic empowerment, I can now refer them to the text book used in my daughter's class as a way to shed light on our wonderful Black Greek organizations.

Her favorite class is "Comparative Literary Analysis" where they read pieces of written work from various genres and then, through analysis of what they have read, learn how to take words and make them more impactful in a concise manner. I think I would love that class too.

In my opinion, every student (young and old) that is enjoying a quality education is truly blessed and should endeavor not to squander this blessing. I encourage students to dig in to each homework or reading assignment with the attitude that I will be better off knowing this information, not only because I will do well in the class, but ultimately, I will do better in society.

Just listening to my daughter makes me want to go back to school and get another college degree. How about you?

I do realize that some in our communities do not have access to a quality education. Stay tuned for my blog weighing in on improving education.