Christi Stapleton is a Christian wife and Mom who is in a graduate school cohort through her undergrad Alma Mater. She also loves and teaches first graders all day! She writes at Blah Blah Blog, Blah Blah Reviews and Showered by Blessings.

Get up. Get ready to go to work. Get 5 and 7 year old dressed, fed, and out the door. Teach first grade all day. Go to meeting after school. Once home, help with homework while hubby gets dinner (Bless him!) Go to meeting after dinner. Get boys bathed, teeth brushed, devotions said, in bed.

Phew! Now I get to sit down and relax for a bit! Right? Not exactly…I have to do MY homework!

Yep, I’ve headed back to school. I wasn’t sure I could do it, but here I am: 14 years after finishing my undergrad, I’m hitting the books again. I am working toward a Master’s Degree in Reading and hope to fulfill my dream of becoming a Reading Specialist.

Nervous is one word that describes how I felt about going back to school. I was nervous about having to study again, nervous about how to balance my classes with work, family, church, and sanity, and nervous about how it would affect my family. I was worried that I couldn’t keep up with the workload.

Then there was the dream I had that I tried to enter a classroom on campus, they wouldn’t let me in!

But nerves aside, it is working out well. I have learned several things on the journey thus far. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Prioritize!

Though part of me would love to sit at every ball practice that my children have, it isn’t the best use of my time. Take advantage of times when the house is quiet. Sometimes you have to turn off the “Mama Guilt” instinct and insist on time to do work.

2. Your study skills will come back to you.
You may even realize that you are more of a perfectionist than you were when last you cracked a textbook. You will remember how to prepare for tests, write papers, and even your forgotten love of highlighters!

3. Life will not cease to exist if you’re housework doesn’t get done.

Honestly, my house has never been spotless. I’ve had to learn to ‘let go’ of things that bother me some in order to focus on my homework. Yes, it’s still irritating, but I have to remember that this is temporary. Though it may inconvenience us for a while, it is ultimately FOR my family that I am pursuing this degree.

4. The pros outweigh the cons.
I love the satisfaction of getting a paper back with a good grade, or knowing that I did well on a quiz. I also enjoy showing both my own children and my students that adults can learn things, too. It is reassuring to know that I am working toward a goal of helping others learn to read. I especially love knowing that I am following my passion.

Is it hard to go back to school? Yes. Would I do it over again? Absolutely.
Is it worth it? Without a doubt.

Photo Credits: Vatsug, rachelak, jugbo, maltesefalcon59, dogbomb

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By Genevieve Blaber, College: U Got It?, @CollegeBoundnet

Any mother knows that taking care of children, career, and household can be time-consuming and more than a little daunting. But that doesn’t mean you should, or even have to, give up your career goals. Thanks to the prevalence of online degree programs, career schools, and community colleges, mothers all over the country now have the chance to increase their career potential without sacrificing their family lives. In fact, while the thought of returning to school may seem like a self-indulgent fantasy, it’s a wise move that may benefit you and your family in the long-run.

If you don’t believe us, check out some of these recent stats and figures and think about whether you can afford to give up your career future.

• There’s already a gender gap to contend with, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Women who worked full time in 2008 made 20.75 percent less than men when it came to median weekly earnings.

• Across the United States, the wage gap causes the working families to lose $200 billion in income each year, according to the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
• Learning equals earning. Amongst full-time workers age 25 and over, the median weekly wages for workers with associate degrees was $727 as compared to $620 for those who had only graduated from high school. Bachelor’s degree recipients did even better with $999 a week, says the BLS.
• According to the New York Times, women are more likely to be involved in industries where the employment rate is not as susceptible to the state of the economy. Such fields include health care and education.
• The top five best state economies for working women according to InfoPlease.com are: the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Vermont. To contrast, the five worst are: Arkansas, Louisiana, West Virginia, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
• The top five occupations that offered the highest median salaries for women who worked full time were: pharmacists, chief executives, lawyers, computer and information systems managers, and computer software engineers.
• Women currently make up 46 percent of the nation’s workforce and that number is expected to grow a full percentage point over the seven years.
• According to the AFL-CIO, each woman who works in a predominantly male profession makes $3,446 less than her male co-workers every year.

For additional Posts from the #GNO lifelong learning Panelists:

• College Surfing Insider
• Spa Beauty schools
• College Bound
• Holistic Junction

Are you interested in finding out what types of colleges are near you? Or how to locate a good accredited online university? You can search through the Collegebound Network to find both!
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