Now if they could just find a way to offer the AT hiking course on line.
Now if they could just find a way to offer the AT hiking course on line.
"When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute.
But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute--and it's longer than any hour.
That's relativity." --Albert Einstein--
ASU in Boon has a course on Trail Maintenance and there have been over 800 + working hrs of trail maintenance done by them (last I heard) .
I think that is AWSOME! What better way to learn about and gain respect for the Trail and the Volunteers who do the work on it!
I don't know if there is a link or not ,perhaps someone else can provide additional info on this deal????
A couple hikers/maintainers Otto and Crispy are involved with it I believe. Good thing tho... IMO .
PEACE!
FF
RadioFreq:
An A.T. course already does effectively exist on line.
It's called Whiteblaze.net
And it's free. You don't have to apply to a college, sit in on weekend classes, pay tuition to any school or "Institute", or do any homework.
There's an extraordinary ammount of good information here, and an awful lot of very qualified people exchanging and relating it, at no cost.
The "A.T. course" you speak of is right here.
Best of luck with your hike in 2010!!
Ditto. I took a bunch of worthless liberal arts electives (can't have engineering students taking too many math and science courses, now can we) that I would gladly have traded for an AT course, or any hiking/outdoors course, or anything of interest, for that matter.
Frosty
wookie, props for getting such a good response from your students. sounds a little like what Mowgli was talking about. getting otherwise involved folks interested in the woods. nice work.
i also always wondered why they offer those cheesy p.e. courses. i took bowling. i think an AT class is great, although of course you can get it on your own. a guy named Kip Redick has been doing this for some time out of a college in VA (can't recall the name right now). they go for a multi-week hike. wish i could get paid for that.
"When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute.
But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute--and it's longer than any hour.
That's relativity." --Albert Einstein--
Wish I had this rather than taking badminton / archery when I was in college for my required phys ed elective.
I'd have to agree. It is a joke. But if someone can structure the classes and have people pay money for them, and get the college to accept it as a class, I say good for them. That's what America is all about. Reminds me of someone...WD. Then again, I think everyone knows that you get what you pay for when those students enter the workforce....then those backpacking classes are not recognized, and count for nothing but having a good time. Backpacking is recreation.
Are you in college to have a good time or are you there to develop knowledge to be utilized for your career?
So since so few college grads actually follow their career paths, why not fill your curriculum with irrelevant classes that you enjoy?
If I am interviewing someone for a job and I see more then one useless class on their transcript it tells me that they don't have their priorities in line & they're out.
Be Prepared
Real classes of value would include:
Math
Literature
Science
Government
Engineering
Business
Medcine
Law
Philosophy
Military
I'm sure there are some more, but most everything can fall under one of these categories.
Bogus classes that are educatonally irrelevant to a professional career:
Sports (to include hiking)
Talking about our feelings
Anything else that could be considered "play"
Be Prepared
Blackcloud,
They didn't have requirements called "electives" where you graduated college?
Physical Education was one of mine...
At the Univ. of Minnesota, you have to pay by semester, which is 13 credits. Anything over 13 credits is free. That's when a lot of students take PE classes, like backpacking, at least here. I only need 70 credits for my major, but a total of 120 credits to graduate. Even with a minor, there are still a bunch of credits to make up. I don't see a problem with taking an enjoyable class, especially if it's free. Maybe this doesn't hold for the college offering the AT course; but here, there is no stigma associated with taking a PE class, especially when it's free anyway.
Hmm I guess my whole college career in Art was play, glassblowing, sculpture, stain glass, woodworking, and ceramics plus a bunch of other classes that I didn’t need to talk but though that they would help me better my self.
I guess now that I am going out for my Adventure recreation bachelors that is all going to be playing as well since that consist of backpacking, skiing, climbing, kayaking ... etc.
How can you judge some one for the classes that they take. No education is wasted whether you agree or disagree it. The knowledge that you pull from the classes that you take whether relevant or irrelevant help you shape who you are. If the person took the class obliviously they did not think it was useless. It is people like yourself that make it hard for people to get jobs that do not have a degree but have the experience. A degree is just a piece of paper and the classes that you take are only as good as the information that you pull out of it.
There is no way in hell that I want to be stuck behind a desk 9-5 every day for the next 60 years and from what I read about your "real" classes that is what you think people should do.
There’s no point in the destination if you can't enjoy the journey.
When I was in college I had to take stupid phys-ed classes like walking for health and bowling. I would have jumped at an AT course.
hopefuly both!
In my 30+ years in the business world, I have found that individuals who have completed the exhaustive process of getting an acredited degree usually have their priorities straight. The fact that some explore diverse opportunities and demonstrate an adventurous spirit has generally turned out to ba a plus.
For what it's worth: If I were in position to do so, would be extremely hesitant to appoint a person with the attitude you express here to a position that involves any Human Resource decisions.
May your days ahead be brighter than before!