"Traditional" v. "Non-traditional" students

Last Saturday, while looking at the Colorado Mountain College facebook group's discussion board, I came across an interesting topic. A 44-year-old student was asking what the "traditional" students think when they see older (aka "non-traditional") students on campus.

I think "non-traditional" students can be quite valuable to the education of us "traditional" students. The 30, 40, and 50 year old students have had experiences that us 18, 19, and 20 year olds haven't had. They have experience with law and medicine from former schooling and work... they can give you a parent's perspective on things, without being hundreds of miles away... they give you advice like "show the staff you're interested and that you want to be successful" which makes your life MUCH easier... they get you to think about the "big picture" and help you devise career plans when you feel like you're just spinning your wheels... they are the voice of reason and offer emotional support. They also provide a tremendous amount of entertainment when they shift from "adult" mode to acting more like a teenager.

I wrote the author of the discussion topic to find out how she, as a "non-traditional" student, felt about being in class with students half her age. I asked her "Do you feel that 'traditional' students bring an interesting perspective to classes? Also, do you ever feel that us 18, 19, and 20 year olds are a hindrance to your education?" Her response was, "I do feel that 'traditional' students bring interesting perspectives to the classes. While I may have more 'life experience' than they do, they have fresh new perspectives that I may not have. I think we benefit each other. I definitely do not feel that younger students are a hindrance to my education. The point to going to college at my age is to continue to learn. I feel that I learn a lot from younger people. I have children the same age (or even sometimes older) than the students I am in class with. I learned so much from my children as they grew, and I try to do the same thing in the classroom."
I found her response interesting for a couple reasons. First of all, I don't generally think of myself and other students my age as having "fresh new perspectives" but I suppose we do because of technology and such. Perhaps "hindrance" was the wrong word for what I was trying to ask, but I know my dad would definately find it an annoyance and think it rude, if he were sitting in class while other people were having side conversations, as us younger students have been known to have a side conversation or two during class and have even been asked, on more than one occasion, if we would like to teach the class.

Events coming up:
February 6th: Free swim night
Feb 6th-8th: Steamboat Winter Carnival
February 9th: Free gym/swim night
February 10th: Free ice skating
February 11th: Free gym night
February 14: En Fuego at Copper
February 16th: Free gym/swim night
February 17th: Free ice skating
February 18th: Free gym night
Feb 19th & 20th: Colorado State High School XC Ski Race
February 21st: En Fuego at Copper
February 22nd: Leadville Loppet