Karen* was a student in one of my Preparation for ENG 3 classes a few years ago. She was in her mid-twenties, had a few children, and worked while going to school almost full time. The first thing I noticed about her was her attitude. She was always ready, willing to learn, smart as hell. But she didn't lord her abilities over other students, and even though she was quite intelligent, she struggled with some aspects of college work (didn't we all?). I recall that she had a particular issue once with providing proof that she wanted that medical career. I asked her, "Where is this coming from?" She spent the next three months figuring out her motivation to become a physical therapist, and she realized that it stemmed from the time her aunt was in a rehabilitation center after suffering a fall; the time she spent with her aunt affected the rest of her life, especially her career ambitions. Her writing project described this incident and the upcomging degree requirements in clear detail.
It's important for me to say that Karen aced the English class she was in with me, although she didn't have it so easy in the next one. That could be chalked up to how she got along with her next professor; the type of work provided; how professors grade differently in a subject as subjective as English; her contexts (that is, the time and ability she had to dedicate to her work, and the other life events going on around her). She passed the class and made sure she was in line to get into a particularly tough medical program.
Knowing what I knew about her life story: that she had children in her teens and had to leave home; that she had had difficulty with family and high school; that she struggled to give her children a lifestyle that was comfortable and a mom they could be proud of, it's easy to say that Karen was motivated. Most students in her position would have caved to the pressures. I cannot imagine it myself, having gone through college in the traditional way (at 18-21), without kids and with a full athletic scholarship, to balance all of the competing needs, requirements, and desires of those in her family: those of her mother, her children, her partner, her boss. I would have easily quit just for a few extra hours of sleep a night.
Karen keeps in touch with me to this day. I even asked her to come back to ENG 3 and provide a motivational speech to the students there. Her message was, "It can be done." And then she proceeded to provide examples from her life and from her work in that class to support it (oh, and it made this English professor's heart happy to see a thesis point being driven home with supplemental support!).
Karen is now in her medical program. She'll get her degree--she works so hard at it, studying at every possible moment, getting tutors, working with her professors. She might not be a natural at some of the scientific concepts (most of us aren't), but she bullies her way through the work and makes herself bend to grasp the knowledge. She's so ambitious that she'll most likely eventually go for a master's degree. And she'll get it.
Karen is a success: the statistics suggest that she has less of a chance than a younger student who is unburdened with a full-time job and family. Peng and Lee suggest that "Demographic characteristics likely to place students at risk include low family income, low parental education, single-parent family, and limited-English proficiency. Data were derived from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), a survey sponsored by the National Center for Educational Statistics" (1992). This means that all of these factors coalesce to affect how well a student does, even as early as elementary school.
I am personally included in these statistics: I was raised within a single-parent family, who also, at least when I was younger, dealt with a very low family income. Luckily my mom (like Karen) survived the lean years; went back to school and eventually earned multiple masters' degrees, raising her children's chances at success. But my mom's parents had it rough: while they stayed married, my grandfather didn't get past 8th grade and worked in a labor-intensive job his whole life (as a painter); my grandmother worked, too, at a medical supply company on the line, especially to bring in money to help take care of extended family. My mom's only options were relayed to her early on: nun, teacher, or nurse. The family just didn't have enough money for something else (she always wanted to be a lawyer). Thankfully she had those options...
In an article by Christina Burke, she suggests that women with obstacles are now taking charge of their futures, moreso now than ever before. Sue Beran is one of them: "Despite difficult circumstances--working two jobs, the daily commute from Moulton, a separation and being a single mom with two small children --she managed to graduate summa cum laude --with highest honors --and a 4.0 in an associate degree in applied sciences in medical laboratory technology."
Sometimes I guess students need those life experiences to be motivated to find their passion and do the work they need to succeed. College will be here when they're ready (but, sadly, it'll just keep getting more expensive). In the meantime, students like Karen make for exciting and fulfilling teaching.
*Karen's name and a few identifying details have been changed to protect her identity.
References Cited
Burke, C. (2008). Hard Work Pays Off at The Victoria College. McClatchy - Tribune Business News. Washington: May 11, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.vccs.edu:2048/
pqdweb?did=1476608301&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId
=1364&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Peng, S. S. and R. Lee. (1992). Measuring Student At-Riskness by Demographic Characteristics. ERIC--Resources in Education. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Francisco, CA, April 20-24, 1992). Retrieved December 6, 2009, from http://csaweb116v.csa.com.ezproxy.
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