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Passage C
Gaining Confidence and a Degree Online
I shudder as I remember my high school geometry class. It was something I just didn't get. I never understood how one point could be in both a line and an angle. One turns, one goes straight. Now I get it. My 33rd birthday was such a point.

 I had the opportunity to have a college education paid for by my employer. All I needed was to pass with a C grade or better and my tuition and books would be reimbursed 100 percent. I had the desire to return to school. Although I held an Associate's Degree my goal had always been to earn a Bachelor's Degree.

 The excuse I had been using for years --I didn't want to be away from my family -didn't work any more. My supervisor had told me about an online degree program. On the evening of my 33rd birthday, my mother-in-law told me I would be crazy to let the opportunity slip through my fingers. I agreed.

 Three days later I made the phone call to the University. Three weeks later I started my first class. It was scary. Technology seemed to be working against me at first. But the teacher and I worked through that first stretch of uncertainty.

 The classes were five weeks long and packed with information. Each class involved hours of sitting at the computer reading teacher assignments, student comments and composing answers and comments of my own. In many ways I think these classes were more demanding than a traditional college class. But I was free to decide when I wanted to do the reading and responding.

 At first, my classmates intimidated me. They held management positions. I did not. I was wrong. We were all people with a goal. We helped each other overcome the problems we had. We helped each other understand the course work. We helped each other when our other lives demanded our time and attention.

 In a traditional classroom, several people typically command the conversation. Quite often, the rest of the class remains silent unless called upon. While we are formulating a response in our minds, the conversation continues to move on. The moment is lost and we've kept our insight or questions to ourselves.

 The online classroom is different. Every student has an equal opportunity to submit ideas, comments and questions. Everyone contributes. In the online setting, I discovered that I did want to share my ideas. I had questions to ask, but I didn't have to raise my hand in front of the class, I just needed to type it out.

Two unexpected benefits came over the two years I studied in the online program. First, written communication skills dramatically improved. I noticed a change in my own and others' work as the classes progressed. Second, I gained confidence to share my ideas. I gained a sense of who I was. Now I own my own business. I am a speaker and writer. I still share ideas with others, but now I don't have to hide behind my computer screen.

 Oh, and that point, the one that can be part of either a line or an angle? It's called a turning point. When you reach one, you choose whether to continue on the path you are taking, or make a change that will take you in a new direction.

(555 words)

 
©Experiencing English(2nd Edition)2007