By: Samantha Ghan, Opinions writer, flutedm@yahoo.com
Five years ago I was asked to teach six three-year-olds. I taught them for three years. They were a huge handful and blessing in my life. They would run around like puppies chasing their own tails. It was extremely hard to plan lessons for them. I wanted to help these cute little minions learn something so they could understand. I would spend forever on lesson plans so that I could fulfill my goals that I had set for the children.
After the third year I moved to Arizona, so I didn’t have these monsters any more. While in Arizona, I realized that I missed them and wanted them back. But alas, I couldn’t.
When I finally did move back to Utah and started school at UVU, I decided that I wanted to be a schoolteacher, elementary school to be exact. I will earn my degree in early childhood education and later earn my degree in elementary education. Maybe I’ll do something with special education. I plan on doing all of this at UVU.
But I live in Provo, where Brigham Young University is the college of the city. I meet new people in my area, and they automatically think I am a BYU student. What would make them think that?
Just because I live one block from BYU campus does not mean that I attend that school, or that I ever will. I live close to BYU because the rent is cheap. Just what I need.
While living one block from BYU I have had a few BYU student roommates. My friend Chase wanted to join BYU’s dance program, but after trying out they would not let her enroll. She had to change her whole major.
As I learn of her experience I thought to myself, “NOBODY’S going to tell me what I can’t do!” I am my own person and if I want to do something then I am going to do it. For this reason, I will forever be a Wolverine.
While making this decision I called the BYU elementary education department to find out more about their program. The elementary education program is open enrollment, meaning anyone can get in if they meet the pre-requirements. It is open because there is such a high interest in the program. The early childhood education program, however, is closed enrollment. Same for the special education program. You have to apply to the program, and if you don’t get in you are screwed. You might as well transfer to another school to get that degree or just give up on your dreams.
UVU’s education programs, all of them, are open enrollment. You still have to have the pre-requirements, but you get into the program. The advisors are helpful at keeping you on track with your classes and what needs to be done before you start the program.
I will be a teacher and I will have my own classroom. Nobody can say otherwise. And that is why I will forever bleed green!
Hmm. Though I agree that UVU is better than BYU by far, I feel that this article is watered down, there are so many aspects to why UVU rocks… UVU offers it’s students (usually) an unbiased approach to higher learning. We have to figure out for ourselves what exactly it is we want then go for it. We work hard for our degrees knowing in the back of our minds that when we say we go to UVU to BYU enthusiasts there may be judgment. When I lived in Provo, I felt almost pitied that I didn’t get into the dream school that some people think is BYU.
I think this is an honest mistake. If you live within a few blocks of BYU campus and in BYU approved housing there is a greater chance than not that you go to BYU. If you don’t, for whatever reason, and you say, “Actually I go to UVU or I am not currently going to school” then that person can simply change that notion about you. But chances are the next person they talk to either goes or went to BYU. If a BYU student lived in UVU approved housing a few blocks away from UVU campus (which granted is not allowed…but perhaps they are a BYU graduate), it may be assumed that they go to UVU, would it not? But then if they said they went to BYU, you could change your notion about that person and carry on with your UVU life. Further, in terms of judgment passed on UVU students, if a BYU student said, “I go to BYU” a judgment may also be instantly passed by a UVU student. Perhaps something…
Yeah, I went to BYU and met many UVU students while living in BYU student housing. Neither I nor any of my BYU roommates looked down on them for going to UVU, or even thought of them differently. Also, limited-enrollment programs are a typical part of many universities. They don’t exist because universities want to control you or tell you what you can or can’t do, or to ruin your life and crash your dreams. They exist usually for two reasons: One, because the program has limited resources and does not have room for everyone who wants to study in a specific area–such as BYU’s nursing program, which isn’t even that great of a program, but it is competitive to get into because lots of students want to study nursing, but the program has limited money/space. Or two, because the program is really good and they want to make sure you are serious about the coursework and can keep and thus…
Haha, I laughed out loud in my library. What a joke of a statement. BYU is ten times the school that UVSC is, oh wait, UVU. I had to look wikipedia the school because I had little to no idea what this school was or where it is. I come from the Big Ten, where are schools are huge and excellent. However, I respect BYU, it is a superb establishment. Haha….UVU, really?