{"id":40772,"date":"2013-07-29T11:46:52","date_gmt":"2013-07-29T18:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=40772"},"modified":"2015-02-14T22:24:13","modified_gmt":"2015-02-15T06:24:13","slug":"advice-on-learning-from-the-new-doctor-mooney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/07\/29\/advice-on-learning-from-the-new-doctor-mooney\/","title":{"rendered":"Advice on learning from the NEW Doctor Mooney"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dr.<\/a>
Dr. Edward Mooney, Jr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Dr. Edward Mooney, Jr., Palmdale author and teacher at Quartz Hill High School. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Note<\/span>: This column was originally slated to run in the Antelope Valley Press, but the author\u2019s column has been canceled. He requested for his last article to published here as a service to his loyal readers.<\/em><\/p>\n

Three years ago I slowed down in the writing of this column; I went back to college, and that proved to be quite demanding.\u00a0 Well, that experience is now over!\u00a0 On June 17th I completed the degree of Doctor of Education through Northeastern University in Boston \u2013 mostly online, with some classes on campus.<\/p>\n

Here I am, back again, with Mooney\u2019s Class. My first effort after graduation is an encouragement to those heading off to college, or back to college after a hiatus.\u00a0 In case you\u2019ve forgotten, I lost my wife back in the early 1980s, as I was starting a doctoral program. \u00a0I was left with three kids to support. It took me over 30 years to finally finish this degree (well, 27 years were empty of effort).\u00a0 I will readily admit how frightened I was back in 2010 when I first enrolled at Northeastern.\u00a0 So, how did I overcome the many obstacles?\u00a0 Allow me to share some insight about surviving college at my age, now 57, or, perhaps, at any age.<\/p>\n

10. PICK YOUR SIZE<\/strong>. Don\u2019t be afraid to bite off a big piece \u2013 but not too big.\u00a0 As Clint Eastwood noted in a movie, \u201cA man\u2019s got to know his limitations.\u201d\u00a0 I have a corollary to that \u2013 you need to know your limitations, but don\u2019t underestimate yourself, either.\u00a0 Too many times we see our limitations as being too narrow.\u00a0 I did this.\u00a0 Find the middle ground between \u201ctoo big\u201d and \u201ctoo little.\u201d<\/p>\n

9. WATCH YOUR TIME.<\/strong>\u00a0 Meeting deadlines is critical.\u00a0 Simply put, don\u2019t get behind.\u00a0 Keep up with the work.\u00a0 Learn how to be more efficient in your school work as you gain more experience.\u00a0 Learn what matters and what does not matter.\u00a0 Also, learn to schedule your time better.<\/p>\n

8. GET HELP.<\/strong> Ask for help. At first, I hated asking my professors for help.\u00a0 A few of them were the age of my older daughters!\u00a0 I quickly learned that asking for help made my life easier and clearer as I went through the program.\u00a0 One example was that of use every class to develop my dissertation research \u2013 don\u2019t wait until all of your classes are done.\u00a0 That allowed me to finish the degree 6 months after I finished classes.<\/p>\n

7. MOVE!\u00a0<\/strong> Get up and move around.\u00a0 One thing I had not expected was how much I had to sit in the program.\u00a0 I gained weight and developed sore legs.\u00a0 Realize that you\u2019ll be more sedentary for a while \u2013 and work on moving more!\u00a0 By the way, I\u2019m attacking that weight gain again now that I\u2019m finished.<\/p>\n

6. FORGET AGE.<\/strong> Age is not a barrier to learning.\u00a0 I found I had certain disadvantages compared to younger students, such as things don\u2019t come quite as quickly to me as they used to, but I also discovered one strong advantage \u2013 I\u2019m more able and willing to not give up, to keep trying.<\/p>\n

5. GET SUPPORT<\/strong>. Build a support group.\u00a0 Through my classes, and into the dissertation, I had a core group of great colleagues.\u00a0 These people encouraged me, gave me insight, and helped keep me straight on deadlines.<\/p>\n

4. PICK YOUR BATTLES.<\/strong>\u00a0 Remember, your goal is to finish.\u00a0 Whenever you run into a conflict with a professor, ask yourself which direction will get you finished quicker \u2013 in a battle or in just doing it.\u00a0 The vast majority of the time, just doing it was the quickest.<\/p>\n

3. IMAGINE.<\/strong> Imagine yourself being at your goal.\u00a0 On June 17th I smiled because I had imagined myself actually defending my dissertation and being told, \u201cCongratulations, Dr. Mooney,\u201d for the first time at the successful end of that meeting.\u00a0 It was as sweet as I imagined.<\/p>\n

2. BE CHANGED.<\/strong> A real education will change your life.\u00a0 I learned more about writing.\u00a0 I learned so much in my ethics class, and that alone has changed me, along with a few other things.\u00a0 I will never forget the saying of the week, below.\u00a0 I use it almost weekly now. Ponder it for a while and see if it is not true.\u00a0 Is this not ethics?<\/p>\n

1. PERSEVERE.<\/strong>\u00a0 How do I say this succinctly?\u00a0 Do not accept the concept of \u201cquitting.\u201d\u00a0 See it all the way through!<\/p>\n

I hope this helps someone else as they start their college career, or resume it.\u00a0 Hey, I hope it helps learners at all age!\u00a0 Good to be back writing for you!<\/p>\n

Thought for the Week:\u00a0 \u201cVirtue is that place between excess and deficiency.\u201d – Aristotle<\/em><\/p>\n

–
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Disclaimer<\/span>: The views expressed in this article are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The AV Times.<\/em><\/h4>\n

Email letters@theavtimes.com<\/a> to submit a story to Your Issues | Your News<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Edward Mooney, Jr., Palmdale author and teacher at Quartz Hill High School. Note: This column was originally slated to run in the Antelope Valley Press, but the author\u2019s column has been canceled. He requested for his last article to published here as a service to his loyal readers. Three years ago I slowed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1480],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40772"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40772\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}