Educational Pursuits

Friday's Study Goals

2009-01-08T17:35:00.001-08:00

I went by the library and picked up 2 of the Norton Anthologies for poetry. Most of the poems I need to read should be in those books or in the literature book I have from my English 1102 class.

Friday:

Read 30 min Paradise Lost.
Define unknown words.
Read over study guide for DSST Ethics in America. Look up 1 topic on the study guide and make notes.
Read about the ancient philosophers in Introducing Philosophy.
Read Dante's Inferno XXVI and make notes.

I don't know if I'm going to make it through Paradise Lost, but I will keep trying!

Thursday Study Goals

2009-01-07T23:16:00.000-08:00

Read 1 hour in Introducing Philosophy textbook - For Ethics in America DSST

For GRE Literature:

Read 30 min Paradise Lost
Define unknown words from the work
Review note cards
Find criticism on Baudelaire. Read and take notes.
Begin Tennyson's Ulysses.

I got through Book I of Paradise Lost! Sparknotes has been a great help in explaining things! And it's free!

Test Plan

2009-01-07T15:38:00.000-08:00

I'm waiting to hear back from Charter Oak on some things. Basically I want to go ahead and take some tests now before enrolling in Charter Oak. Either I can pay for the tests or I can pay their enrollment fee, but I can't do both.

I need approximately 58 credits left to complete my degree.

February - Ethics in America DSST - earn 3cr - cost $110 at testing center

March - Intro to Modern Middle East DSST - earn 3 cr - cost $110 at testing center

April - Analyze and Interpret Literature CLEP - earn 6 cr - cost $90 at testing center

May - Natural Science CLEP - earn 6 cr - cost $90 at testing center

June - Intro to World Religions DSST - earn 3 cr cost $110 at testing center

July - Rise and Fall of Soviet Union DSST - earn 3 cr cost $110 at testing center

Aug - Civil War and Reconstruction DSST - earn 3 cr - cost $110 at testing center

September - Human and Cultural Geography DSST - earn 3 cr - cost $100 at testing center

October - GRE Literature in English - earn 18 cr - cost $200 at testing center

November - Western Europe since 1945 DSST - 3cr - cost $110 at testing center.

Then I will enroll for Spring 2010 in Charter Oak and take about 3 - 4 classes with them to finish my degree. I should be finished by summer 2010!

My study guide

2009-01-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

Tuesday:
Read through index cards
Study literary terms in glossary of textbook

Wednesday:
Interpret / analyze Walt Whitman's poetry
Read 1 criticism of Whitman
Read 1 criticism of Baudelaire
Define unknown terms from Paradise Lost
Read more Paradise Lost

Crosseyed!

2009-01-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

I feel as though I am cross-eyed! I have so many notes and I need a way to classify them. I have them on index cards now.

I said yesterday I would do this:

Tomorrow: Find and read criticism of Baudelaire. Read Paradise Lost 1 hour and make notes. Define any unknown terms. Read Tennyson's Ulysses. Review previous notes.

Instead I did this:

Read more Paradise Lost and made notes.
Defined some terms from Paradise Lost and some literary terms as well.
Read poetry - Walt Whitman and Robert Browning.
Read about Whitman's and Browning's life.
Read a criticism about Browning.

I used a literature book from my English 1102 class a few years back to find some of the information, as well as the Internet. Don't pay for a membership anywhere - you can find almost anything online if you know what to search for.

Tomorrow I plan to just re-read the notes I already have. Nothing is going to sink in unless I read what I am writing. I don't need to fill up index cards just to fill them up.

Tuesday I will get back on track with the criticism and fill in any gaps, as well as read more Paradise Lost.

Finally Decided!

2009-01-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

I am going to enroll in Charter Oak State College for a BA in General Studies with Literature Concentration. In order to earn most of the credits for my literature courses, I plan to take the GRE in Literature in October. That means I have some reading to do!

I'm starting with the MIT Poetry class on Open Courseware, as well as this site that lists the material most covered on the practice tests.

Study plan for January / February:

Read Paradise Lost by Milton. Make notes on Milton's life, events surrounding his life, and notes regarding the work itself. Also read 1 literary criticism about the work.

Begin MIT Poetry class. Read short bio of each poet, events surrounding their life, and read 1 criticism about the poet and/or work presented.

Read Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. Make notes on her life, events surrounding her life, and notes regarding the work itself. Read 1 literary criticism about the work and/or author.

Make notes on literary terms and poetry styles.

*******************
Today's studies - read Paradise Lost for 30 minutes. Made notes of words needed to define. Looked up unknown words and noted definitions. Read 3 translated poems by Charles Baudelaire. Read analysis of the 3 poems and personal info on Baudelaire and Milton. Read and took notes on criticism of Paradise Lost by Samuel Johnson. Defined 2 literary terms.

Tomorrow: Find and read criticism of Baudelaire. Read Paradise Lost 1 hour and make notes. Define any unknown terms. Read Tennyson's Ulysses. Review previous notes.

Choosing a School

2009-01-01T15:16:00.000-08:00

With the help of Degree Info, I think I've narrowed down my school choices. I plan to start back in the summer of 2009, but I have to turn in paperwork and get prepared now.

My choices are:

Bachelor of General Studies at Northwestern State University in Louisiana. This is the least expensive of all the schools I've looked at so far.

BA in Liberal Studies at the University of Oregon with concentration in English

BA in English at Thomas Edison State College. This is one of the most expensive options.

I am probably going to go with Northwestern State, simply for the cost and the classes required. My goal is to do 18 semester hours in 1 year, so I'll be taking 2 classes each semester.

To do:
File taxes for 2008
Enroll in school's program
Complete financial aid paperwork
Send transcripts from previous college work
determine what classes I need from new school
enroll in 2 classes for summer

Intro

2009-01-01T14:46:00.000-08:00

I'm an adult college student hoping to finally finish my degree! I have 49 college credits already.

My long term goals include:

Finish my BA in General Studies, Liberal Studies or English (about 4 years part-time)

Enroll in a Masters of Library Science program (another 4 years)

Receive a Media Specialist certification (about 2-2.5 years)

Obtain a job with a DOD school and possibly work at a military post in Europe. (work for the DOD for 20 years)

Travel and see the world!

Return to the US for retirement. (around age 65).

Buy a camper van and spend retirement driving around the US.

So that is pretty much the plan for the rest of my life :). My dh will be with me, of course. My son is almost 15, so he will be off at college and doing his own thing by the time I'm ready to start my master's degree.

I'm getting lots of great info from the people at Degree Info. If you want to complete a degree and would like to do as much online as possible, this is the place to get information!