My Journey to the Open University and Beyond

 

Patrick is a former OU student who has completed an Open Degree and here he tells us about his motivations for study.

This is a tale of two halves; the how and the why.

Four years ago my wife died after a long illness, during which time life was a struggle with little time for anything else. We lost our lives to palliative care. If not the carers then it was a posse of others with unheard-of titles.  Days, weeks and years went by with little respite.  And then she died. Suddenly I had twenty four hours a day to fill.  This is when a sad time was transformed into yet another wonderful gift from my wife.

For the first time in my life I could make decisions absolutely in my own interests; no parents, teachers, partner, employers, whoever needing to be listened too, obeyed or consulted.  But first, a little background.

With a coal miner for a father I came from a working class background.  Both parents had left school at fourteen years of age.  We had two books at home, the Bible and a Medical Dictionary, the latter essential as prior to the National Health Service a Doctor’s visit cost money.  Being a pupil in the post war years, when teachers who had been enlisted into the services returned to classroom duties, I was fortunate to find myself at a grammar school.  I left there with four O Levels and my education came to an end.

West Leeds Boys High School

By accident rather than by design I found myself in the police.  With an unusual career pattern I enjoyed a wealth of experiences.  Leaving the police I found employment as the Secretary of a national sports council.  This opened doors to places I would never have envisaged.  It was through these experiences that I realised that there was a piece missing from the jigsaw of my life.  I was meeting people of all sorts, some illustrious and some less so.  I wondered what they had that I did not possess.  Eventually I realised that what distinguished me from these people was their education.

I knew not how to fill the gap following my wife’s death until a friend suggested that I study for a degree.  I put the idea aside until other friends made similar suggestions.  Having a string of granddaughters with various degrees I dreaded the thought of sitting with their peers in a brick university. I was saved by finding the Open University.

Here I was steered towards an Access Module (YO32).  Having survived that hurdle I enrolled for an Open Degree choosing my own modules.  The following three years I studied as a full time student.  No matter which subject, I always received first class support and felt that tutors were always willing to indulge me with my queries.  From the beginning they gradually coached me from a journalistic style to something more appropriate for the academic reader.

I sought out the Students Association (OUSA) and volunteered my services.  I was unsure what this would involve but was appointed a representative to the Board of Studies for the Access modules and Open Programme.  Here I saw another dimension of university life – all the backroom units which make a university function.  I have especially enjoyed the opportunity to visit the Campus and meet other student representatives, to see other board members in action and to feel able to reach out for advice.  Staff, both OU and OUSA, were unstinting in their support and I shall miss meeting with them and learning from them.

With some trepidation I now await the outcome of my time with the Open University.  If my efforts are sufficient, this journey from back street boy to Bachelor of Science will have been completed.  Should I sit back now and enjoy the fruits of my labour?

Unfortunately I have caught the learning bug and cannot just leave it there.  Although that was my sole objective at the outset I have decided that unlike my grammar school experience I will not be content to leave it at that.

Now I can pursue a boyhood interest by accepting a place at York University to study a Masters’ based on railway history. A case of big boys playing with their favourite toys.  I hope that York will be as welcoming as the Open University has been and which I know I will miss.

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