APU Careers & Learning Editor's Pick Online Learning

Forget the Turkey, Give Thanks for Your Education

giving-thanks-educationThere is plenty to gripe about with higher education. Sometimes there is too much reading one week, or you’re expected to write a paper with a word count of 6,000 in a couple of weeks. This is all part of the learning process. Your parents likely told you that eating your vegetables was good for you, and the same can be said for these supplemental assignments that may seem superfluous at first. The preference may be to lay on the couch and enjoy a nice break with your favorite show, like the Walking Dead for example, but your fulfillment for knowledge is not being obtained by these distractions. Just like you learned to appreciate and respect your elders, you’ll learn to respect the time allocated to learning.

So,when you’re getting ready to go to town on your Thanksgiving feast this year take pause to think of your education. Opportunities for education are often taken for granted. In America, children have access to public schools where they can get a foundational education. In other countries around the world home schooling is sometimes the only option, and in the more desolate parts of the world it isn’t available for working families. There is plenty to be thankful for when you have some of the luxuries afforded to you; and your education should not be shortchanged on that list. Be thankful for the journey it took to get you in your seat; whether that’s in a virtual classroom, or a physical chair.

Learning can be beneficial to you. Just think about why you went back to school in the first place The common response here is to qualify for more jobs. What about the serial learner, or professional student? It could be that they have an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and they are quenching it with every opportunity they get. Most students would fall in between those two classes of students. You didn’t just pick your program of study to make money, you decided that it was a good fit for your career aspirations, and it would push you mentally.

So, while you’re enjoying a piece of succulent turkey and snooze inducing stuffing remember your education. It is just as big a part of your life as the job you drive to everyday, and the favorite movies you watch on loop. Give thanks to the little things, and for what you’re doing in your online classroom.

Have a special message for your fellow students? We all need a little bit of motivation here and there. What keeps you going?

Happy Thanksgiving!

By J. Mason
Online Learning Tips Editor

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