Going back to school is an exciting prospect at any age. What will I learn? What will push me? What challenges await? Going back to school while your kids are going back to school can be even more daunting. Not only are you putting your nose back on the learning grindstone, you also have to stay connected to your child while they hit the books too. Thinking of making the leap? Get enrolled and follow these steps to stay on top of your subjects while taking care of your family.
Timing Is Everything
Going back to school while parenting is a time management challenge. You have to expertly juggle schedules. Do you need to take the kids to school? Pick them up? Cook breakfast? Parent-teacher conferences? After-school activities? You have to potentially deal with any/all of those things while also potentially managing your work schedule AND your classes AND other obligations which could range from the mundane (getting groceries) to the more intensive (caring for an elderly relative). To succeed as a parent learner, you need to be realistic about the time you have available to you to go to school. Remember: school isn’t just attending the class itself! You need to factor in the hours of reading, studying, and assignment work you may have to do outside of class.
How many free hours a week can you devote to your studies? Be honest with yourself: don’t over-commit and risk burning yourself out. If you already have a jammed schedule, it’s better to take one or two classes to make incremental progress toward your goal than go full-time and find yourself neglecting your other responsibilities.
Once you know your schedule, ask yourself what times of the day are you most at liberty to study? When are the kids away or at work on their own studies? Timing your studies to coincide with these moments of parental downtime are crucial so you can stay focused on learning while also ensuring that you get to be present for your kids when they’re free. After all, they may need help with THEIR studies so you want to make sure you get your work done and out of mind so you can be there for them.
“Best practice is to devote time each day to your studies,” said Gina Pinch, Rio Salado Faculty Chair for Business, Management, and Public Administration. “Making incremental progress each day is usually easier than trying to tackle a large amount of reading or assignments over one or two days.”
Create a Dedicated Space
To paraphrase Virginia Woolf: a parent must have a room of their own if they want to study. It can be very hard to transition out of “parent mode” and focus on your own schoolwork if you’re right in the thick of things with your family. Avoid cracking open your textbooks in common areas like the living room unless you have a limited amount of space in your home and can’t study anywhere else. Find a space in your home that doesn’t have a lot of foot traffic passing through it, an area that is well-lit, comfortable, and quiet. This should become your study space: a place where you can take online classes, do your readings, and complete schoolwork without distractions. If you already work from home or live with a partner who has a home office, one way to save space is to share that office—depending on whether or not your partner is amenable to that and if the two of you can work out a shared schedule that doesn’t conflict with either of your obligations.
Check for Resources
It never hurts to look into financial aid to see what scholarships, grants, and other financial assistance options are available to you as an adult learner. As a parent going back to school, you may qualify for scholarships and other aid programs earmarked specifically for people in your situation. There may also be childcare options available to you that could be very helpful if you’re taking in-person classes.
Utilize Your Support Network
“It is dangerous to go alone,” as the Legend of Zelda once put it. Don’t be afraid to ask for support from the people around you. If you’re raising a child with a partner, communicate your needs to them and see where they can pitch in. Maybe you need to slack on a couple of your responsibilities to stay on top of an assignment; maybe you need them to take over cooking dinner duties for a while. There may be moments in your academic life as a parent where you’ll need to take a step down from certain things; it’s very helpful to have someone close to you that you can trust to step up in the meantime.
You can also count on your family and close friends as a support network. A support network isn’t just “hey, watch my kids” or “can you run to the store”; support networks can be people you vent to, people who you can rely on to grab a coffee with and have a laugh to take a mind off your obligations. Stress can have a profoundly negative effect on your mental and physical health, so don’t underestimate how important having a little stress-relieving fun can be.
Accelerate Your Education
When people think about going back to school, they most often think in terms of “gotta get a degree.” While getting a two-to-four-year degree can open up a lot of possibilities for your future, there are other options available to you. If you’re looking to earn a relatively fast credential, consider enrolling in a fast track microcredential or a certificate of completion program. Most of these programs take anywhere from 9 to 30 credit hours to complete. Starting off with a smaller program can be a good way to get your sea-legs as a student parent; by the time you’ve completed your fast-track learning, you’ll have had enough experience managing the logistics of being an adult learner that you can take aim at a bigger program.
Another way to push the gas pedal down on your education is to enroll in accelerated course schedules. These are courses that you can complete in a shorter amount of weeks, which means more time will be needed to devote each week to your studies. If you have older kids who need less supervision and you have more free time, this can be a good option to hit the ground running on your education.
Self-Care Is Part Of Studying
You can’t retain information effectively if you’re stressed out. Stress impacts our ability to process and recall information. It also does a number on our capacity for concentration. That’s why it’s critical to take time to relax. Drink that cup of tea, meditate for a few minutes, take a nice leisurely walk outside. Give yourself a break every day to get yourself back to neutral mentally. Think of the stress like built-up pressure in a kettle: it needs to vent! If you’re spending an hour on your studies, take five minutes off at the end of the hour to give yourself a moment to cool-down and reframe your thoughts.
Give Yourself Some Grace
It’s important to be flexible. You’re going to make mistakes. Things will fall by the wayside at some point. You’re human, You’re fallible. You’ll be alright. Going back to school while raising a family is a tremendous logistical challenge and schedules won’t always align. Or maybe you have to retake a quiz because your child is sick or there’s a family emergency or you need to cover for your partner while they deal with a major issue at work. Don’t kick yourself if you have to change your plans or fail at something.
The key is communication. If you’re having trouble managing your commitments, talk to your support network. Talk to your instructor. In many cases, you may be able to get an extension on your deadlines. Most reasonable instructors will understand that your first priority has to be your family and will not judge you for it.
Remember: education is a marathon, not a race. If you need to take a break or two between semesters to focus on other obligations, do what you gotta do. Don’t feel like you HAVE to keep plugging away at it if you’re feeling overwhelmed. It’s okay to step back, catch a breath, and rebuild your mental strength so you can come back and continue doing the heavy lifting.
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Article by Austin Brietta