Learning Curve

On Sunday, Aug 15, I got an email formally admitting me to the Masters program in Geography at UMC. On Friday, I registered for my first two classes. None of this should be at all unusual, except that I have absolutely no formal background in Geography, I applied to the program 6 months past the deadline, without GRE scores from this century, and I’m an English teacher, across town from the University. And I’m 54.

There were more than a few glitches along the way getting admitted, getting letters, and so on, which I can spin out as anecdotes for friends. But my purpose here is more to trace and reflect on what it means to be an older student, while starting a completely new academic discipline. I expect a steep learning curve [ah, I initially mis-typed ‘curve’ as ‘curse’—perhaps Freud knew a few things about how we think]. I am most anxious about the technical side of contemporary Geography, where young technicians gleefully focus on ‘remote-sensing systems’ and satellite imagery with a precision that would make any anti-terrorist drone pilot confident.

I know none of the technical side, nor even the details of the sophomore mapping science class. My academic specialty is 20th Century poetry. I don’t think I mentioned poetry at all in my Statement of Purpose essay to the MU Geography Department, perhaps believing that “poetry,” taken seriously, would finally be the factor that would make these new profs shake their heads and turn away. So, my hidden dark side—the Humanities.

Why Geography? I do have an interest in learning and teaching human cultures, and I have a stronger interest in the environment. I teach courses involving these now, but there’s always that line where others seem to doubt my confidence and credentials when I veer this far from English.

But I’ve started this new program. Two classes—Geographic Thought (Wed 4-7) and Biogeography (M-W-F 9 am.) The 9 am may kill me. I still teach Tues-Thur evening classes, 5-10 pm, and an ESOL class 1-3:20 TR. And the 3 online classes… And 5 new courses to teach in October.

We’ll see what happens.