Las Organizaciones Como Sistemas Abiertos

As mentioned in the previous section, student veterans face challenges when transitioning to community college including navigating the institutional bureaucracy. However, the transition does not stop at the doors of the community college but also continues into the classroom. The classroom experience of student veterans was mentioned by almost all of the 15 research participants as a key part of their transition that had a memorable impact during their transition period. The classroom experience included their experience with being in the classroom in general as it relates to learning and completing the requirements of a course, the interactions of student veterans and other classmates, as well as the interactions between student veterans and faculty members. I represent each of the aforementioned points through interview and focus group responses and social media posts in an effort to highlight the experiences present in this theme.

Theme 3, Subsidiary Theme 1: Experiencing the Collegiate Classroom as a Learner. Enrolling in college for the first time or possibly returning to college after

military service is certainly an adjustment. Transitioning from the military environment and entering an academic one where instructions are given, but the responsibility for completing a task falls heavily upon the individual is a stark difference that participants noted. Additionally, the experience of just being in the classroom and having to sit through lectures, complete assignments, and study on one’s own is vastly different than the military. Juan discussed being in the classroom and going through the learning process during his one-on-one interview:

I remember the first time I uh walked into the classroom for the first time. It was surreal…I sat down at a desk in the back and waited for the teacher to come in. I waited and waited and waited and waited. It was bout 5 minutes past when the class was supposed to start and finally this guy walks in and doesn’t even apologize for being late! Do you know what would have happened if you were late for something in the Army? Let me rephrase that, you don’t wanna know! But like I was saying, the professor walks in late and goes up to the front, barely introduces himself, hands out the syllabus and starts lecturing. I was trying to keep up and write down everything I heard but I was falling behind and it was the first day! (laughter). I kept getting distracted by everything. The guy in front of me texting, the girl next to me texting, I knew it would be a bad idea sitting in the back…The next class, I was right up in front! Nothing to pay attention to but what the professor was saying…I found myself doing the same stuff at home and getting distracted. I would try to read for class but would end up looking at my phone or getting distracted by my dog walking by or I would read the same page over and over again and not even know what I had just read…luckily, I caught on

early enough and knew that if I was going to pass school, I needed to isolate myself at home and go in a separate room without any distractions. I could only do that so much being in the classroom but sitting up front for sure helped me with that.

During the Moving Through stage of Schlossberg’s Transition Theory, Juan exhibited signs that he had conducted an appraisal of his self and understood that he had to make accommodations and changes to his study habits if he were to be successful in

community college. Isiah discussed his experiences in the classroom as a learner: I remember my first business class I took and boy did it knock me on my ass (laughter). I knew I hadn’t been in school in years and knew I would be kinda rusty with studying and all but man did I get a wakeup call. I was used to having my superiors tell me exactly what I needed to do and when to do it. At SPCC, I was on my own…I mean don’t get me wrong, the teachers gave you a syllabus with everything that had to be done, but then everything else was on you. I had to keep up with my reading, assignments and that was only for one class! I was in two other classes at the time. It was hell! I remember going in to take my first exam and I thought I had studied pretty well and kept up with most of my work and then I got my grade back. I got a D! I couldn’t believe it (laughter). I aint ever get a D in my life, not even in high school. I was more embarrassed than

anything. I hid it from my wife and when she asked how I did, I said ok but I’m going to try harder next time. Luckily, she didn’t ask again, I think she secretly knew what that meant (laughter).

My biggest problem being back in school was trying to stay focused. My PTSD definitely played a big part. I had trouble just sitting still in class. I was always fidgeting and really on-edge…I remember one time I was sitting in class and uh this kid comes and sits next to me and he slams his book down hard on the desk and it kinda triggered my PTSD. I had a flashback to the war and I had to get up and leave. It was too much to handle…the next class when I came back, the same kid came up to me and apologized if he did something to upset me that I had to leave the last class. I briefly explained my background and just let him know if he could not slam his book again, I’d appreciate it (laughter)…studying was also an issue, I don’t know I just kinda felt dumb like I wasn’t understanding the material. It gave me crazy anxiety and made me lash out a lot at my family when they would ask me what was wrong…it was hard balancing my PTSD and school and trying to work through one to succeed in the other.

Nathan reiterated similar sentiments during his interaction in one of the focus groups: Yes, school was much harder than I thought. It was difficult getting back into swing of things after not being in school for a while. Keeping up with work and going to class was the hardest part. Having to sit down for a couple hours and listen to professor lecture also was a pain (laughter). I forgot what it was like being in school since I had not been since high school…I am happy I started at SPCC, not four-year cause I feel like I would have dropped out and not been able to do all the work at four-year.

Oscar also expressed his thoughts about being back in school via Twitter:

As illustrated through the interview and focus group responses as well as the Twitter posts, the student veteran research participants faced a series of challenges as they transitioned from the military to community college. From difficulty focusing in the classroom, trouble studying, to adjusting to the environment overall, student veterans experienced a myriad of obstacles in the classroom as learners.

Theme 3, Subsidiary Theme 2: Experiencing Non-Veteran Students in the Classroom. There are a handful of studies on the topic of veterans transitioning from the military to community college. In that literature, the inability to relate to nonveteran peers (Falkey, 2016; Heineman, 2016; Jones, 2017; Rumann et al., 2011; Wheeler, 2012; Zinger & Cohen, 2010;) is an issue that student veterans have cited. As shown previously in the data of this study and will continue to be on display, the student veteran research participants stated the importance of connecting with other veterans and how they felt more comfortable in a student veteran center which allowed them to be around other veterans and those who have similar experiences. As will be highlighted in this section, the research participants in this study expressed their feelings on interacting with non- veterans inside the classroom.

Justin expressed the following regarding his experience in the classroom with non-veteran peers:

Most of the students were fine and didn’t give me any shit, but I still felt different than them. A lot of them were fresh out of high school, so uh, about 18 years old or so and I mean I’m in my 30s so that may only be ya know, 10 or 12-year difference but it felt like 30 years when you’re in the situation…every now and again I would hear a dumbass remark by one of them about how rough their life is or how tough they have it that they have to wake up early to come to class. I just stared at them and shook my head. Being in college is a walk in the park

compared to what me and other vets have been through. I think that the military service should be a requirement for all citizens because it really does put a lot of things into perspective and make you appreciate what you have.

Miguel stated the following during his one-on-one interview:

Yeah, I mean, I had a run-in every now and then with another student. You know, these 18-year olds think they know it all and they’ve been through so much but they don’t know much at all. Not saying I do (laughter) but I’m sure I’ve seen more than they have…every now and again I’d get asked some dumb question about my service like oh have you ever killed anyone or ever seen a dead body? I mean, I get it, like, they haven’t been in the military so they see everything on tv and in the movies and think that it’s everyday life. Sure, some of the stuff on tv you see actually does happen, but it’s not like we’re in the trenches 24 hours a day and behind enemy lines running a secret mission (laughter)…I just felt a lot more comfortable being around other vets. They just get it, ya know? But to circle back

to where I started on this tangent (laughter), for the most part, the students in my classes were fine. You would just have that occasional asshole who thought they were funny and would try to push my buttons. I’m sure it happened to more than just me.

Oscar shared his thoughts on the topic during a focus group session:

Back when I was in the Air Force, I was around all other servicemen, obviously (laugher), and so we were all in the same boat. Even though we came from way different backgrounds, we were all in this together…so when I got back to school, it was the opposite. There wasn’t another airman in my class, or even another vet, so I felt kinda out of place. Not that the other students did anything to make me feel that, for the most part, but just personally I felt like I wasn’t clicking with my classmates. They would be talking about going out and going out to the bars this weekend and I was over here like I gotta rush home every day to make sure I’m there to watch my daughter so my wife can go off to work. Yeah no time for the bars for me (laughter) those days are long gone. So, I had trouble finding common ground with my classmates, I guess you could say. I definitely felt the age

difference between us. I know I’m only 26 so I feel like I should relate more to them being ya know, 18, 19, 20 years old, but I just didn’t. I have a family to support and do better for and a full-time job while going to school and have been to some crazy places and they’re still living with their parents and probably still getting money from them and I’m on my own. Just at two different points in our lives.

Muhammad echoed similar sentiments during the same focus group regarding the

difference in maturity level while being in the classroom with other non-veteran students: Yeah man I know exactly what you mean. I just felt like an old man (laughter) when I was in class. Like you said (referencing Oscar who spoke prior), I’m a dude in my 20s and so I’m not that far off from the rest of the people in my classes, but there was such a distinct gap between us. I’m sure other people who are older feel it too, not just veterans. I can’t decide if it’s because we’re vets or because we’re a few years older than some of the students in our classes. Probably a combination of both. Probably has to do with our life situations too like Oscar mentioned. I personally don’t have any kids but I work full-time outside of school and have a wife so I don’t have as much freedom as some people do or like I had when I was 18 (laughter). School is just one of my obligations that unfortunately has to come after my job and family…now I’m not claiming that I know all of these kid’s lives and I’m sure they have responsibilities outside of school too, some of them (laughter), but I feel like we have more (laughter).

David shared his thoughts regarding interacting with non-veteran students in the classroom via Twitter and it was confirmed his tweet was in reference to the topic:

Alan tweeted his reaction to being back in college around younger students and how he felt regarding the age difference and maturity level. The tweet was confirmed to be in relation to the topic at hand:

As evidenced through the interview and focus group responses as well as in the Twitter posts, the student veteran research participants displayed a feeling of disconnect and at times discomfort being around non-veteran students. They expressed a variety of reasons for these feelings including the literal age gap and the expression of immaturity exhibited by the non-veteran students. More than half of the 15 student veterans cited instances of offensive or insensitive comments made by non-veteran students inquiring about their military service and even demeaning veterans in general. Non-veteran

students were cited as saying how the current war was “pointless” and that vets were not “true heroes” in their own right. In some instances, the student veterans said the non- veteran students were aware that they were indeed a veteran and still proceeded to make the comments while in other situations, the veteran status was not disclosed to the non- veteran students.

The student veterans in this study often compared their own situations to the situations of the non-veteran students. They stressed that they had more “adult

responsibilities” as compared to their peers such as family and full-time employment. The research participants did not exhibit jealousy towards the non-veteran students and their situations and none of the participants indicated that they wish they were in their situation instead of their own. However, the majority of the research participants made a point to address how their situations differed from many of their classmates which often led to the topic of maturity both the lack thereof in regard to the non-veteran students and

their own higher level. Many of the research participants stressed how the military made them mature quickly due to the nature of the environment and the “maturity needed to survive in some situations”. Many cited their “worldly experiences” and “seeing things that most people haven’t” as reasons for their increased maturity when comparing it to their non-veteran peers. A few of the research participants also discussed how the military is a “brotherhood” and everyone “looks out for one another” particularly in dangerous and uncertain situations. The majority of the student veterans stated that their military units were “like family” and they would “protect one another to the end”. This level of comradery and the creation of a pseudo-family unit is debatably another reason for the increased level of maturity. When lives are on the line, especially lives of people the student veterans cared deeply about, the situations that these student veterans were in forced them to “grow up” and face the situation from an adult perspective, rather than as a “young kid”. The research participants in this study exhibited signs of being present in the Moving Through stage of Schlossberg’s Transition Theory and conducting a self- assessment of their situation. They understood that their situation was different than that of a non-veteran peer, and did their best to deal with their circumstances while juggling multiple responsibilities.

Regardless of the reason, the student veterans felt disconnected from their non- veteran peers. The inability to relate to nonveteran peers (Falkey, 2016; Heineman, 2016; Jones, 2017; Rumann et al., 2011; Wheeler, 2012; Zinger & Cohen, 2010) has been documented in previous topics as an issue student veterans face when transitioning from the military to community college. These authors have recommended sensitivity training be implemented campus-wide to avoid issues that have arisen between the two parties

and a better understanding be developed by non-veterans. This recommendation will be discussed in Chapter 5.

Theme 3, Subsidiary Theme 3: Interactions with Faculty Members. Facing the classroom environment, whether it be the learning aspect or interacting with other students, can be a daunting task for any individual who has not been in that environment for a significant period of time or ever. As displayed in previous sections, the student veteran research participants in this study felt that their experiences in the classroom as a learner as well as their experiences with non-veteran students impacted their transition in