An unofficial AU advocate at large, Jason never misses a chance to recount the merits of an Athabasca education. Jason’s studies began alone in front of a rustic rural fireplace in December of 2003 and carried on through various brick and mortar college classrooms yet always with Athabasca as part of his journey. In 2014 he completed his BA in Sociology and in 2022 graduated with an MA in Cultural Studies. To this end, his columns seek to explore edifying moments of learning how to learn within the challenging ideological terrain of that great bugaboo facing students everywhere: the real world!
Rat race fatigue got you down? Maybe the demands and expectations of what life was supposed to be have paved over those empty lots in your mind you once explored with abandon and zeal. Sometimes something new is needed to break out of this funk. And, as if on queue, a clarion cry echoes through… Read more »
John Cowper Powys’ classic novel A Glastonbury Romance illustrates how, with a little effort and some natural inclination, we can come to understand the perspective of someone else and, for a time, walk the same path with them. At AU, that means that we need to translate our course material into digestible morsels for the… Read more »
When Robin Williams passed away five years ago many of us sensed that one of the loneliest people on earth had departed. His epic line, that “I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people… Read more »
Like an enemy repeatedly coming back to life, the fact remains that even our best academic efforts are no guarantee of success. Putting in the study time, like doing good works seeking heaven, may not guarantee us a happy ending. And that’s scary! Scary too is the fact that learning itself is dependent upon approval… Read more »
It’s a dark and stormy night and you’re cowering under layers of distraction. Your motivation quivers and clings to life as your coursework sits undone. Fearful that the academic gods will punish you for lack of effort, you hide yourself away until the horror of procrastination passes. But wait! A deeper fear grips you; what… Read more »
One course that helped me overcome academic anxiety was PHIL 360: East Meets West. In it I learned to keep calm and appreciate and cherish all of life’s moments, including angst-filled moments of deadlines. Writing the final assignment, I’d pause and really taste the words of assigned authors such as Aldous Huxley. His book Island… Read more »
Tick tock. Hear that? It’s the mounting clamour of approaching deadlines. Time slips inexorably past, and with dire consequences, when we are trying to study. It’s unsettling, to say the least. Sometimes the best thing to do in the face of worry is to relax and loosen our grip on time. While I’ll be the… Read more »
Are you with your learning or against it, or both? Each instance of thinking about a topic requires us to enter into a dancing rhythm. We aren’t just being filled up as we’re becoming educated; at AU we are learning how to make our minds flexible. Creativity depends upon the adoption of new approaches and… Read more »
A little perspective never hurts; autumn can be a great time to take stock of our lives. As a kid, I’d look over my shoulder this time of year and long for summer’s return. Now that new teachers and schoolwork had lost their vague thrilling pangs (like the sensation of walking barefoot on smooth gravel,… Read more »
Especially in September, when the somber weight of fall falls on our hearts, it helps to position ourselves rationally when we think about the forging forth in our studies. At AU we are bettering our ephemeral essences, but we are also aiding our ambitious drive for a better income and a more stable economic life. … Read more »