Gail Cawley Showalter
  • Home
  • About
    • Publications >
      • ABCs of Wisdom
      • Seeing the world through blind eyes
      • Published Stories >
        • Baby Steps
        • The Christmas Elf
        • Gift Shop Miracle
        • Editorials >
          • Teach Responsibility
          • Single Moms Need Our Help to Achieve
          • Single Moms Can Soar
          • A father's presence, simple gesture goes a long way
          • Education is Key for Single Moms
          • Here's why you shouldn't call single moms selfish or stupid
          • Buckner Helps Single Moms
          • Child's love is greatest gift for any mom
          • Love, family and single moms
          • Make a single mom happy on Valentine's Day
          • Single mothers deserve praise for tough job, not disrespect
          • New Year's Message for Absent Dads
          • Honoring Mom
          • The Art of Education
        • Home
        • Snow Tide
        • These boots were made for...
      • Books
      • 101 Ways to Create a New Life
      • Grace of Aloneness is Amazing
      • Single Matters 10 Ways to Create Christmas
      • Single Matters-Single Moms on Valentine's Day
      • Single Matters-3 Steps to Wait Well & Build a Future
      • Single Matters-Why Families Need to Have Fun
      • Single Matters-5 Tips for Finding Your True North
      • Single Matters-Are You Raising a Narcissist?
      • Single Matters-3 Keys to a Successful Single Mom Life
      • Single Matters-3 Keys to Turn Your Life Around
      • Single Matters-Are You Lonely or Just Alone?
      • Single Matters 3 Things Single Moms Need in New Year
    • Speaking
    • Photos
    • Media Kit
  • Store
  • Connect
    • Join Email List
  • Gail's Blog
  • Radio Spots

Baby Steps 
as first appeared in Single Parent Family October 2000

Moms and dads, going back to school may not be as impossible as you think.

Deborah Hedstrom, a 41-year-old widow, decided she had mourned her husband's death long enough and enrolled in a class at Eastern Oregon State College. Ben Avery, a Vietnam veteran raising his 5- and 2-year-old children alone, became a University of Wisconsin-Stout student studying art education. Andrea, a German mother of two, qualified for a Pell Grant to finance college while operating a day care in her home.

Each of these people took baby steps that made a giant difference in their lives. College seems like an impossible hurdle for many single parents. But going back to school can offer more income, provide a better chance for advancement and present a life-altering experience.

For me it was all three. When my children were 9, 7, and 6 years old, I made the decision to return to college. As a teacher, my only avenue for greater income was to obtain a higher-level degree. But moving three children to another city, locating day care, selecting a place to live and coming up with the finances became over- whelming leaps of faith.

So I took one step at a time. We found a furnished apartment near a shuttle bus route that stopped at the children's day care, then took me to the University of Texas in Austin, where I attended classes. After I graduated and we made our trek home, my children put a poster on the back of our station wagon the read: "Hurray, hurray. We're happy as can be. Mom just finished at UT."

In his booklet, "What an Adult Should Consider Before Enrolling in School," John Griffin of the Chief Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Department of Consumer Affairs suggests several things to do before you enroll:
1. Make sure you clearly understand the total cost of the program.
2. Read the enrollment agreement and catalog carefully.
3. Obtain as much written information as you can, including catalogs.
4. Find out if the school's credits transfer to other institutions.
5. Rely only on what is in writing.

If you can't go to college at this time, take heart. Ken Sagan, now 47, is called the "Millennium Man" at Penn State. After 30 years of raising two biological children and three adopted ones and making a home for seven foreign exchange students, Ken is graduating. He says, "I've attained my goal. The wait was worth it."

It can be worth it for you, too.

For further information, search on the Web.

For nontraditional education information:
www.aptm.phoenix.edu
www.apu.apus.edu
www.getinfo.kaplan.edu

Gail Showalter lives in Nederland, Texas

“All material herein is exclusively the property of the author and is not to be used without written permission from the author.” (c) 2011      

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
(c) 2017 Gail C. Showalter. All rights reserved
Recommended by Locals On Alignable
  • Home
  • About
    • Publications >
      • ABCs of Wisdom
      • Seeing the world through blind eyes
      • Published Stories >
        • Baby Steps
        • The Christmas Elf
        • Gift Shop Miracle
        • Editorials >
          • Teach Responsibility
          • Single Moms Need Our Help to Achieve
          • Single Moms Can Soar
          • A father's presence, simple gesture goes a long way
          • Education is Key for Single Moms
          • Here's why you shouldn't call single moms selfish or stupid
          • Buckner Helps Single Moms
          • Child's love is greatest gift for any mom
          • Love, family and single moms
          • Make a single mom happy on Valentine's Day
          • Single mothers deserve praise for tough job, not disrespect
          • New Year's Message for Absent Dads
          • Honoring Mom
          • The Art of Education
        • Home
        • Snow Tide
        • These boots were made for...
      • Books
      • 101 Ways to Create a New Life
      • Grace of Aloneness is Amazing
      • Single Matters 10 Ways to Create Christmas
      • Single Matters-Single Moms on Valentine's Day
      • Single Matters-3 Steps to Wait Well & Build a Future
      • Single Matters-Why Families Need to Have Fun
      • Single Matters-5 Tips for Finding Your True North
      • Single Matters-Are You Raising a Narcissist?
      • Single Matters-3 Keys to a Successful Single Mom Life
      • Single Matters-3 Keys to Turn Your Life Around
      • Single Matters-Are You Lonely or Just Alone?
      • Single Matters 3 Things Single Moms Need in New Year
    • Speaking
    • Photos
    • Media Kit
  • Store
  • Connect
    • Join Email List
  • Gail's Blog
  • Radio Spots