I volunteer on a weekly basis and the work is truly gratifying. The organizations are great. It's good to be around people who genuinely care. The experience only encourages my passion for servicing the needs of the community. Rarely do you find more sincere people in any other environment. Most of the time there is an ulterior motive involved that doesn't include what's best for you. I have experienced such at the school I currently attend, Westwood College. As most know, I am currently pursuing my Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Networking Management. I have met some very down-to-Earth and knowledgeable professors there. But, the Education administration is grossly incompetent and lack the requisite passion for their positions, as you would expect of any faculty member who has the ability to encourage and nurture the continuing education of teenagers and working adults alike. The egregious negligence of my program director, the assistant program director, and the dean has discouraged the desire for many students to return to Westwood College, or any school, for that matter!
Every term there has been an issue with resources, hands on learning projects, and appropriate curriculum. My first term included a core class called Desktop Computing, which taught the basic ins and outs of Windows based computing and how to properly assemble, upgrade, and maintain your PC. Our professor was excellent! Professor Johnson could answer any questions we had. If he didn't know the answer, he'd find it. And best of all, he got the most out of what little we had available. Due to the constant faculty shuffling, it is rare that a professor teaches the same course consecutively. Mr. Johnson was sandbagged with a classroom that did not provide the necessary tools required for us to properly learn and develop the skills to assemble, maintain, and upgrade a PC. Despite the fact that one of the biggest selling points for me deciding to attend Westwood was the guarantee that Westwood was constantly upgrading their computer systems to keep up with the demands of being CISCO certified. I was promised that I would receive ample hands on experience.
So far, all I have received is a bunch of lecturing and wasted weeks of class. This last term was the worst. It truly has me contemplating whether I want to return to Westwood or pursue my degree elsewhere. My core course this last term was Introduction to Linux Operating Systems. Since, my degree involves me getting my CISCO certification, this class is intrinsic to the foundation of my ultimate academic goal. Unfortunately, the incompetence, apathy, and general fecklessness of those charged with ensuring that our classes are well suited for the curriculum placed us 5 weeks behind.
Five weeks into the term, the program director and her assistant bumbled over each other trying to figure out how to install Linux on the computers without interfering with the needs of the other classes to whom the computers would be available. Are you serious?! I understand that the program director had held that position for a couple years, at least. So, my question was, "How had they been teaching the course in the past?" This couldn't have been the first encounter with this problem yet, they seemed to be genuinely baffled. I still don't understand. Computers are like math; it requires experiential learning. You won't learn how to solve equations by listening to someone lecture you on all the rules and shortcut methods unless you practice it over and over for yourself. Linux, being foreign to the average computer user, requires much of the same repetition and experience of hands-on activity. We got none of that for 5 weeks. A term at Westwood is only 10 weeks. So, we basically wasted half the term dealing with an issue that should have never arisen in the first place. Subsequently, we paid for it over the course of the last 5 weeks because we were forced to play not only catch up on all that we had missed out on in the first five weeks but, also, learn everything planned for the second five weeks. Three students dropped out of the class because the strain of keeping up in class and frustration over the unfulfilled promises of the program director was overwhelming. That was a travesty!
I only wrote this because I wanted to illustrate how very fortunate it is to work around and for people who are sincere and desire to efficaciously perform their job. I encourage everyone to take some time out of their month to volunteer for something you believe in. Sometimes the sheer experience can be humbling and encouraging despite whatever you may be going through at home or at work.
If you just don't have a job, I encourage you even more to volunteer your time. Supplement your period of unemployment with a period of philanthropy. The references, work experience, and networking potential can lead to some great employment opportunities. There are many jobs that become available on a daily basis that are never advertised or shared on a job board. The positions are filled by word of mouth. In these days and time, "It's all about who you know," has become even more evident. Most important to you all who are out of work. Keep it pushing! Don't get discouraged. Keep filling out those applications and keeping the faith. Make astute money management decisions with what you do have and expect that change to come because it's on it's way. No matter what keep your head up.
