The First Day of School

Today was the first day of my return to college. I could talk about how odd it feels to be back in school after a three-decade absence. Maybe I could tell you how unusual I must appear in my Dockers khakis, Bauer shirt and Rockport shoes in a room full of students wearing very long shorts, t-shirts and flip flops. You might expect to read about this fifty-something student’s opinion of a teacher young enough to be his daughter.

But none of that is applicable because this is my classroom …



Online learning is not new but this is my first experience with it. Virtual classrooms have been around for a few years, but the University of Maryland and many other schools have developed this format into a viable learning tool. I can actually get an entire degree without setting foot in a classroom for anything except final exams.

I like the classroom environment and engaging in face-to-face discussions with people, so I will eventually take some of my classes in the traditional classroom setting. For now, however, my learning environment is 12-point Arial on an HP laptop monitor.

It’s nice to have this option.