Differences Between High School and University 1

This was taken from a post from The Tomorrow's Professor Today. Many of you have grandchildren who are leaving school and may consider college or university. If they engage that path for their future, it is important to understand what they are going to face before they start. In case you are wondering, there are at least 50+ differences between the average, normal Canadian high school experience and what you will experience at university. Yes, 50+. When some of us get bored, we make lists like this. Some differences are small. Some are big. Some will not matter to most people. Some will matter to many. Some will matter to a few. In any event, there are lots and lots of things that will require adapting to. Although this may seem overwhelming, there are supports in place to help you succeed.

Some students will accept this reality and be ready, open to change, but we have seen many students deny that things will be different. It will be different for others. It is up to you what skills and abilities you really want to develop and excel at. You must think about how you are going to adapt.

What is different and why is change inevitable and important to manage Here are some of the 50+ points given over the next few days. When we talk about adapting to university, it affects every student differently. You will adapt and figure it out, but it will take some adjusting.

Points of difference

1.  You are in class more and the expectations of schoolwork (not the music, sports, drama, debate, coloured basket weaving types, but science and tech) are different - about 50-60 hours every week depending on the courses.

2.  Holidays and long weekends are not really considered - we expect you to be a student all the time and still do some school stuff regardless of weekends and long weekends - still the 60 hours - if you want the long weekend off, put the time in before or after - it does not go away.

3.  There are teaching assistants and you are often being taught by professors - teaching (all of their courses and teaching-related tasks) is only about 40% of a professor’s job. It is not like secondary school where a teacher is a teacher and is there for you.

4.  It is assumed that you will have or will develop appropriate study and learning habits and be an adult.

5.  Often you will not be reminded or nagged about assignments. You forget - you get zero. 

Spring planting

Spring is here and there is a growing movement at least at my place, to get out and pay attention to the garden. The Spring sun is tempting as it calls from the clear blue sky for our attention. The call for attention is echoed by the earth under my feet and the trees and shrubs in my life who look like they are longing for my presence. 

Plants can communicate to each other according to some thinking and I believe that from time to time, however sporadic or brief, they'd absolutely adore my undivided attention.

There's something special about waking up with sunshine in the bedroom that makes me want to be outside.

You see, my wife loves gardening and landscaping as it gives her peace and quiet from the world, and I love the results of her work.

I know some of you may resonate with what I am saying, and others might think I'm off my rocker.

Since last year was a bust our hope is that magic is going to happen in our garden this season.

With life grabbing us by the horns last year we are considering changed the way we garden but do so without a plan is not a good idea. Planning is fun and as the garden takes shape, I will post some pictures over the summer so you can see how we have done. I hope that you will get a chance to grow your own garden this year and that it will bring you joy over the summer and fall.

Retirement in the 21st Century

A 2016 study from the TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies found that nearly three-quarters of employers polled at 1,800 companies of all sizes reported that many of their employees expect to work past age 65 or do not plan to retire at all. While four of the five companies surveyed said they plan to support senior employees who want to continue working, just four in 10 of the firms offer flexible schedules. Fewer than a third allow workers to transition from full-time to part-time work or to a less demanding position.

"Phased retirement has no succinct definition," AARP noted in a white paper on the subject. "The term phased retirement often refers to a broad range of flexible retirement arrangements, both informal practices, and formal workplace policies, which allow employees are approaching the normal retirement age to reduce the hours worked or work for their employers in a different capacity after retirement."

The AARP report cited these factors that are pushing workers to retire later:

   Changes in Social Security have made it easier for recipients to continue working after reaching full retirement age without losing their benefits.

  Americans are living longer, which means that retirees will need greater financial resources to support themselves.

 In 2020, Social Security in the USA allows for $18,240 of earned income per individual under the full retirement age before affecting social security benefits for those who have not reached their full retirement age. The limit for 2021 increases to $18,960. Note the limit increases in the year in which you attain your full retirement age.

Phased retirement arrangements help businesses "maintain continuity of essential business operations by retaining key workers whose positions may be difficult to fill; enhance productivity by addressing the need for work-life balance; and reduce costs associated with hiring and training new employees."

Retiring soon? Consider Phased Retirement

The path to retirement is not as simple as it used to be when I retired. in fact, not only are pensions few and far between today, but people also tend to change jobs much more often. Retiring directly from a full-time job has become rare, with data from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that just 37% of all workers took this route to retirement. The rest took other paths, most often switching to part-time work before finally giving up a job for good. One way to do this is the idea of Phased Retirement.

The nature of retirement is changing, and many workers do not wish to experience a sudden end to work, followed by the equally sudden onset of full-time retirement. Instead, they wish to ease into retirement, transitioning out of the workforce with a reduced workload.

Phased retirement is seen as a benefit by many older workers, as it allows them to gradually ease into retirement while maintaining a higher income than they would receive if they quit work entirely. This is a flexible retirement option offered by some employers that allows you to take part of your pension while you continue to work.  A phased retirement can include a broad range of employment arrangements that allow an employee who is approaching retirement age to continue working with a reduced workload, and eventually transition from full-time work to full-time retirement. Phased retirement may include a pre-retirement, gradual reduction in hours (or days) of work, then post-retirement, part-time work for pensioners who wish to remain employed. Part-time, seasonal, and temporary work or job-sharing are all work arrangements that can be a form of phased retirement.

Phased retirement is exactly what it sounds like—a retirement plan that eases an employee from the workforce. Phasing into retirement keeps an income stream during the transition. Some feel that retirement phasing is easier to deal with psychologically compared to quitting work entirely.

There are IRS limits on the amount of income an individual can earn before impacting their benefit amount.

From the employers' point of view, phased retirement programs can be used to retain skilled older employees who would otherwise retire (especially in sectors where there is a shortage of entry-level job applicants), to reduce labor costs, or to arrange for the training of replacement employees by older workers.