Thoughts from the Man Cave

THOUGHTS FROM THE MAN CAVE Learning

Never Ends Back to school can be for adults, too

by Mike Savicki

Earlier this summer I voluntarily made a decision that most high school and college students would think is crazy. I chose to give up some of my summer and go back to school. More specifically, I enrolled in a graduate level journalism class at UNC Chapel Hill.

By way of background, the last time I was graded on something whether for a degree or certificate, was almost three decades ago. Computers were just being introduced into the classroom and bullet point slides and charts and graphs were actually printed then projected.

Not only was I the oldest one in this class, I could easily have been dad to most of my classmates.

And when it became known that I am a Duke graduate, I became the punchline of a long string of Blue Devil and Tar Heel jokes. I had hoped this topic would not come up in conversation but, truth be told, in addition to it coming up in conversation, it also came up in phone calls, text messages and social media jabs. Old classmates I had not heard from in years made a point of calling me a traitor. A meme was even created.

The schedule was one of chaos. Rather than enroll for an entire semester, or even an accelerated summer six- or seven-weeks schedule, I chose to complete the entire course in a single week. What did this mean? Basically about 50 to 60 hours of work both in person, online, and locked up in front of the screen late at night with actual due dates and deadlines.

The syllabus was full of interesting topics like photo and video composition, broadcast journalism, podcasting, social media, newscasting, law and ethics, and even journalism across cultures and continents. For those who think journalism is simply writing, it is so much more.

I was most drawn to the writing aspect of it. I learned that while there are several different accepted styles of writing, like MLS and AP formats, my long-practiced style most closely resembles that shake-your-head-and-cringe style which teachers enjoy marking up with red pens. I found out they don’t use red pens anymore; in my case they first selected a brilliant red font color then transformed my writing submissions into what I can best describe as an alternating black and red on screen corrected bloodbath. Note to self, read the latest AP Stylebook.

I prefer to frame my writing differently, so I looked for the positive. Kind of like that guy who wears a Hawaiian shirt with his tuxedo. Or if writing styles were like haircuts, mine would be a mullet. Everybody likes to hang out with someone in a Hawaiian shirt and a mullet, right? That’s what I should have told the teachers about my writing.

When I needed it, I channeled inspiration and motivation from a recent Davidson College graduate. NBA superstar and all-around awesome guy, Steph Curry, left school one semester before graduating in 2009. The NBA came calling and he answered. Who wouldn’t? Now, 13 years after entering the league, with four NBA championships, and the 2022 NBA Finals MVP Award to his name, he just received his Bachelor’s of Arts degree with a major in Sociology. After re-enrolling at Davidson for the 2022 spring semester and working with two members of the Davidson faculty, a Stanford professor and a UC Santa Cruz professor who taught Steph when both were at Davidson, he completed every last course and credit. He did it because he believes in the value of education.

After what turned out to be a pretty grueling week of in-person class sessions combined with seemingly non-stop Zooms (also including a day when my home Internet went out and I had to shuffle on the fly—go figure) I felt pretty good. Actually, I felt great. Going back to school made me think about choices, what we do with our time, how we value learning, and why and how we challenge ourselves mentally.

Going back to school shouldn’t just be for kids. There is a place in the classroom for adults, too, Even those who just want to learn a little bit more about a passion, a subject of interest, a like or a love . Learning never ends, said Benjamin Franklin a really long time ago. I agree.