Need Academic Advice?

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Have you ever silently struggled to organize your thoughts and materials for college? What about to manage time or find a proper study technique? 

All of these struggles become magnified under the pressure of caring for children.

Alpha Alpha Iota is here to help. Many of our members at York Tech have raised children while attending college. One of our advisors has also juggled these responsibilities. We know what you are going through. We know that there are not enough hours in the day to mark off all that you have on your to-do list. We also understand the stress, fear, and guilt associated with having so much at stake. Many parents attending college have guilt when they leave their children, or maybe they feel that they cannot spend adequate time at home with their kids, on homework or even just playing. Mostly, though, they just have a hard time getting it all done to their satisfaction.

If you would like advice from students right here at York Tech and information that may be helpful in your journey, such as links or materials, please follow our blog. Also, feel free to comment on our blog posts. We want to know what you think and what you need. If you think of anything we can address, please let us know!

Juggling Life: School, Kids, Spouse, Work, You, by Erin Cox, PTK President

Two weeks into the semester and I already feel like a circus act--how about you? I feel like a juggling clown: one ball per child, one for my spouse, one for work, one for each class, and on and on and on… Although some days I’m not a juggling clown; I’m a contortionist, or a trick rider, or an acrobat, or a lion tamer. I feel like my life is a circus with the main feature being the iron stomach that can drink a full pot of coffee at 9:30 at night. It’s not easy or fun being a circus act.

This is why we all need to go from being the juggling clowns in our lives to being the ring masters. Each class and responsibility we have throughout the day is like a different act in the show. What we have to learn to do is not stress out about clowns throwing us more balls to juggle or even dropping any of the balls we already have. We are only human: we make mistakes, we get frustrated, we get tired, we want to throw our balls at people. Some of our shows will not be as good as other shows—we might do poorly on a test, forget to pack a lunch, not finish the laundry, or one of many other things. We have to be sure to live in the moment and not the past. Just know that we are going to have good shows and bad shows; and when we have a bad show, accept completion as accomplishment and begin preparing for the next show—the next lab quiz, the next paper, the next homework assignment your kid brings home, etc.

Also, do not be afraid to ask for help putting your circus tent up, managing acts, and feeding the circus animals—yeah, I’m talking about kids. Circuses are not meant to be a solo act. Would you go watch a one-man circus? I wouldn’t. It can be really difficult to ask for help, especially when things feel so messy and out of order. But a lot of times audience participation is just what will make the difference. So ask for your family to help you, or your instructors, or your peers, or the people here at Student 2 Student.

The moral of the story is: when you fall, don’t shut down the circus—the show must go on; run the circus, and don’t let the circus run you—be the ring master of your own life.

How to Not Go Crazy 

by Erin Cox, PTK President at York Technical College

I am a student at York Tech, and I am a parent. It is impossible to keep both of these roles separate. The demands of being both is at times exhausting, frustrating, and overwhelming. I spend a lot of time wondering if I can handle it; will I be enough? At the beginning of this semester, it is no different. All the stress and anxiety make me feel like I could go crazy any minute. To avoid this, I have developed a system for myself.

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The following are my three tips for not going crazy:

1.      Stay on top of the material for class. I study from notecards. So, I try to write my notecards out every night after class. This is a great way to keep the material fresh and look up further explanations to things that did not make sense. If I still don’t understand, I write a question to ask my instructor.

2.      Stay organized. I keep a calendar with my schedule and my family’s schedule. I even schedule time to do homework before my due dates. I write down my exam dates as soon as I can so that I am sure to not schedule work or doctor’s appointments too close. Being able to see my schedule broken into manageable pieces helps me feel like I can handle the work.

3.      Do something for yourself. It is very important to take time to unplug from the stress in life. It doesn’t have to be long. Take a walk. Read a novel. Watch TV. I try to spend a little me time at the gym or riding my horse. It is physically and mentally unhealthy to stay in a high stress state of being for long periods of time.

While using tips like these will not make the work easier, it will at least make it less scary. Good luck this year to everyone reading this! Please share some of the things you do keep up with being a student, parent, worker, spouse, etc. Or, post your questions for further suggestions!