When I was approached to write a piece on open and distance
learning education, I came up with this piece. Soon after reading it
by way of, I have come to the conclusion that my life has changed
totally since of it. I didn’t realise how a lot until I
wrote about it, and got half way by means of proof reading it. This
is what I wrote:

‘When I got married I quit my job in the legal profession.
Eighteen years on, and three youngsters later, I decided that
there had to be far more for my future. I had the time to invest on
anything I wanted, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I
looked via the courses that Oxford College ODL offered by
open and distance learning, and realised that this mode of
education was a really very good place to begin. I had picked out the
characteristics of education that I didn’t want to bother with,
and there had been quite a couple of! Examples of these were not sitting
in a classroom with younger students that would show me up,
stringent rules and class times that had to be adhered to, and
cramming for and worrying about exams that had been taken in large
halls full of these once again, young students. Oxford College ODL
through their distance learning and open learning courses was
offering me what I wanted, all that was left to do was to decide on
where I wanted to commence.

I decided to start off with two courses that were entirely
different, so I enrolled in 1 that I thought would help me
realize the world around me, and 1 that would aid me with
confidence and my relations with my kids. The first came in
the form of a sociology diploma, and the second in a diploma in
life coaching. I knew I was taking a lot on, but this was just
for me, and I could take five years to total them! It hasn’t
taken me anywhere near that long to complete them both. I have
completed my diploma in sociology with distinction, and I am on
my penultimate assignment for my life coaching diploma. I have
been able to put a lot of time into my studies, but it has only
been shy of two years now and I have accomplished far more than I
thought I would have been able to.

My plans are to move onto a diploma in psychology next which my
background in sociology has given me a deep interest in, and for
myself rather selfishly, I am going to enrol on the English
Literature program which I think will give me the confidence
to take pleasure in the writings and works of those that spent their lives
composing pure and good quality entertainment. I couldn’t have done
all this if it wasn’t for the distance studying and open
studying courses provided.

Through me, my young children have gained confidence. My education in
life coaching has given me the ability to support my kids
without having interfering which gives them confidence. My son has
since started his own enterprise with my support, and my daughter
is studying by means of distance learning as I am, whilst she trains
in distance running. She has realised, as I have, that there are
a lot of methods to get a top quality education, and it doesn’t have to get
in the way of other ambitions.’

Distance learning and open learning have changed our lives
greatly, and there are a lot of reasons to study this way. I have
come to learn that education is not something to be scared of,
it is some thing for everybody, and it is something that you
should be able to take at your own pace. Distance studying has
performed this for us along with show us that education is not just
there for those who want to further their job prospects, but it
is also there for men and women to merely gain understanding in subjects
that they are interested in and by means of this it is impossible to
describe the feeling of confidence that is achieved. I had
constantly thought that further education was for those that had to
make more funds to support themselves and it was just a tool to
further their job prospects. It is considerably more than that and has
opened my eyes to a entire new way of life. It is for me, it is
for my kids, and it is for everyone. Distance studying
doesn’t discriminate. It is a gift

Oxford College