Going Back to School

Norma Blanton drove around the Loop circling Houston, trying to find the right exit. It was late summer, and the air conditioning in her car was on its highest setting. She finally found the exit, and merged into traffic heading into the Texas Medical Center. From there, she could see signs to her destination: Rice University.

Her mind was swimming with the thought of the long trip here. But she wasn't thinking about the forty minute drive from her house. It was measured in years, even decades. The last time she was a student was twenty-three years ago, when she earned her Bachelors Degree from the University of Texas. "That was another lifetime ago," she thought.

As she made her way onto the campus, she drove under the shadows of the beautiful oak trees arching over the road. The long, thick, twisting branches showed that they were more than one hundred years old. Well-maintained hedges neatly divided the campus buildings from each other. She rolled down her windows a bit and could smell the fresh-cut grass. It reminded her of the smells outside of her grade school as a child.

Norma was registered for a business management class and needed to find the right building. "I hope there's enough parking," she thought. As she drove slowly around the campus, the sidewalks were filled with students getting to class, students much younger than she. When she made the decision to get her Masters Degree, she knew that she would be among much younger students. And most of these people had been in school for a while. They knew the campus, the professors, and other students.

She finally found a parking spot, but it seemed to be a mile's walk from her class. She grabbed her books and quickly headed across the campus. She was determined not to be late on the first day.

Sweat beading on her forehead from the brisk walk, Norma found the classroom and settled into a desk near the back of the class. She made it there a few minutes before class started. Taking a deep breath, she noticed the smell of old wood. The building was one of the older ones on campus, and still had wooden floorboards. Also, the wooden desks were a bit worn from years of use by students who had come before her.

"Good morning, I'm Rachel." Norma was a little startled. She didn't react right away to the woman sitting next to her. She was a little surprised someone was talking to her. She turned to her left to see a black-haired woman, smaller than she was. Rachel had a few gray hairs streaking through her hair.

"Oh, good morning, I'm Norma." She was a little disoriented. All of this seemed so new to her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to surprise you. Actually, you surprised me, in a way."

"How so?" asked Norma.

"Well, I didn't expect to see other, you know, older adults in this class. I figured I would be the only one."

"I was wondering the same thing." Norma told her. "But I ..."

Norma stopped when she heard the professor greeting the class. He called out the names of everyone on his roll sheet. He wanted to make sure the students were in the right class. A few confused and embarrassed students left the room, clearly in the wrong place. As the door closed, a few people snickered. As the class quieted down, the professor handed out sheets of paper to everybody. The sheet listed books and other materials they would need during the semester. As he was walking around the room, he asked all of them a question.

"I'd like to go around the room and have everyone answer this: Why are you here? Why do you want to earn a Masters Degree in Business?"

Since Norma was near the back of the class, she knew her turn wouldn't come up for a while. So she listened to the other students' explanations. One student, Mark, wanted to start his own company. He had written a software program that he thought could make a lot of money. But he needed to know more about running a company to sell it. Jennifer worked as a bank manager, and earning her Masters was a good way to get promoted in her company. Nicholas had already earned a law degree. He wanted to get a Masters Degree in Business to become a partner at his law firm.

As the other students shared their goals, Norma started feeling uneasy. "What am I doing here?" she thought to herself. "I don't want to run a company. I don't care about making a lot of money. Is that all that people do with a degree?" She looked at Rachel and gave her a weak smile. She could hear the student in front of her speaking, but she didn't hear what she was saying. Norma was lost in her own thoughts. Suddenly, there was just silence in the room.

"Mrs. Blanton?" the professor asked.

"Yes, professor? Excuse me?"

"You were next, Mrs. Blanton. What is your reason for enrolling in this program?"

"Well, um... to be honest, I haven't really thought about it. I'm sure I'll do something interesting with this degree. I'm more interested in learning right now." She suddenly had a lot to say. "But for many years, the most important thing in my life was raising two beautiful kids. That was my full-time job. I liked saying that no one paid me, but I worked as hard as anyone else. Now they're grown up and on their own. But it's still important to me to help people. So maybe I can use my experience, along with this degree to do something to help other people." Norma looked around, and suspected that she was talking too much. "Well, maybe I can give you a better answer by the end of the semester." Norma's face was flushed and hot.

"No need," the professor said. "That was a good answer. Let me know if I can help you with that."

After class, Rachel and Norma walked together to the campus bookstore.

"I was thinking about what you said, Norma," Rachel told her. "There's a non-profit organization that you might be interested in joining. They help people all the time."

"That's great, who is it?"

"Habitat for Humanity. A friend of mine works for them. They're based in Georgia." Rachel said.

"I heard about them. They build houses for people who can't afford them, right? Aren't they all volunteers?"

"They have thousands of volunteers, but they also have people who manage their organization. Those people work for Habitat full-time. They're looking for people like you all the time. After you get your Masters, I'm sure they'll want to talk to you."

"That sounds like a perfect fit. Can I call your friend about it?" Norma asked.

"Sure, I'll get his number for you." Rachel told her.

Norma was excited to hear about Habitat for Humanity. She was even thinking about volunteering with them when they had a project in the Houston area. She couldn't think of herself just working in any company, earning a paycheck from week to week. Working for a non-profit was a good way to help other people and stay true to herself. Helping people was what she did best.

1.	PREDICT Based on this paragraph and the title, what do you think the story is about?
2.	DRAW CONCLUSIONS What might have happened in the decades between Norma's first time in college and now?
3.	INFER Is this a pleasant memory for Norma? Explain your answer.
4.	ANALYZE How did Norma probably feel about being at college?
5.	VISUALIZE What would the classroom likely look like?
6.	CLARIFY What does the author indicate here?
7.	INTERPRET Why were the students confused?
8.	COMPARE AND CONTRAST What is similar about the three answers?
9.	REVIEW How long has Norma spent taking care of her kids?
10.	CLARIFY What does Norma mean by volunteers?