SCHOOLIN' AND SUCH (more history for my kids)

I figured out fairly early in life that the folks I knew who could read and write had an easier time in life. During the three years I worked in the East Texas oil field, it amazed me that so many people I worked with were illiterate and thus stuck in very difficult jobs.

My guesstimation is that the average education level of "successful" people in my small world was maybe the 6th or 7th grade. Those who made the 10th grade were somewhat akin to scholars so I decided that getting a high school diploma was simply a must do.

I spent 12 years "readin' and writin'" at New London, Texas For the first ten years the school was simply called New London. In 1966, two white schools and two black schools consolidated and integrated simultaneouly and became West Rusk County ISD. I received my coveted high school diploma in 1968.

It occurred to me that if a high school diploma would get me a better job and perhaps an easier life, maybe some college would add to the benefit. However, the Sunday after high school graduation, my Dad visited with me and told me that I could continue to live and eat in his house, but I would otherwise have to be on my own as he needed to take care of my sisters.

As leaving the area to attend college was not an option, I decided to try Kilgore Junior College. It was maybe 20 miles from home.

I had no clue about anything related to college. On the day of registration I drove to the college totally stressed with no knowledge of what I was supposed to do. When I got there I saw the longest line of people ever in front of a large building. I got in the line with no idea about what I was supposed to do or where the line was going. The other kids in the line were talking, laughing, and obviously confident. The longer I was in the line the more I became convinced that I didn't belong there (and was likely too damn dumb to do college work anyway). Somewhere inside of me I found the fortitude to stay and went thru the process of registering.

Being too ignorant to start out easy in this strange new challenge, I registered for 19 hours of pre-med (Chemistry, Zoology, English, Algebra, Government and ???). WOW, that first semester was an eye opener. Learning from that experience, I only took 18 hours each of the next two semesters. If I remember correctly, I made the only "D" of my entire life one semester in Inorganic Chemistry and most of the other grades were an "A".

As noted in a previous blog, while taking a challenging course load at KJC, I was working three part time jobs (clerk to the dean of night school, night janitor at a business, and oil field hand on weekends). All the while slowly "starving" economically. When I bought gasoline it would be 3 or 4 gallons at a time. When I was away from home and hungry, well, I just stayed hungry. Forget clothes, entertainment, medicine (whatever) as it just wasn't possible so I left school and started my life long occupation.

I was a Highway Patrolman in San Antonio from 1970 to 1976. I left KJC with 54 semester hours and figgered out I needed around 60 for an Associate of Arts degree. To get residence at San Antonio Community College I needed a minimum of 15 hours. Bottom line: I started going to SAC part time while Highway Patrolin' full time and got an AA with 69 total hours about 1973.

After the AA, I decided what the hell and enrolled at St. Mary's University in San Antonio and started working on a BA. After 15 hours at St. M's, the University of Texas at San Antonio was created and opened. I transferred to UTSA and continued taking a class or two per semester while making a living. While at UTSA, I got to within 12 hours of a BA with a major in psychology when I was promoted to Sergeant and moved to Houston.

The working and economic conditions in Houston were not such that I felt I could attend school. After a year in Houston I transferred to Marshall in 1977. Marshall had two colleges!! One was an all black school and the other was a Baptist private school with tuition costs greater than my annual salary (so no progress on school here).

In 1981, I was sent to Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois for a one year police executive program. While at Northwestern, I earned 24 semester hours credit to add to my growing transcript total (with no undergrad degree).

After Northwestern, I was transferred to Austin for a one year internship at DPS headquarters. Thinking I would only be there one year I did not try to attend school.

About 1986 I was still in Austin and was asked by the DPS Public Safety Commission to interview for the position of Lieutenant Colonel. I was very flattered to get the interview, but not at all surprised to not be promoted due to my limited tenure. That interview got me to thinking about how I might be more competitive if I was ever interviewed for Assistant Director in the future. I knew that all candidates interviewed, except me, had a bachelor's degree. This inspired me to relaunch my attempt for an undergraduate degree.

I tried Southwest Texas State, but they never offered what I needed for the degree at a time I could take it due to work. I looked at the University of Texas at Austin, but at the time they offered no night classes. I finally ended up at St. Edward's University. The cost was going to be mind boggling to attend St. Ed's, but it was my only option. Bottom line: in 1988 I received a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degee (with 161 hours on my transcripts due to all the dang moving around and problems getting credit at different places for a degree program)

After struggling to "educate" myself from 1968 to 1988, I still vividly remember the feeling I had the day I went to St. Ed's and picked up (I never walked the stage for my degrees) my diploma. It was an awesome high.

A few months after the St. Ed's degree, it occurred to me that having a bachelor's degree only got me even with my competition at DPS. Therefore, I decided to apply for the Master of Public Administration degree program at Southwest Texas State. This master's program was not only offered at night, but about half of the classes were even offered in Austin rather than San Marcos. The limit to complete the program was 7 years. I didn't feel I had the time professionally or otherwise to drag it out, however, so I finished the program and recieved my MPA in 1992 after a three year whirlwind of school and job.

About 1993 or 1994, I got curious about a doctoral program at the University of Texas in Human Resource Development. I started the application and interview process to get into the 6 year program. I got to the last stage and the person interviewing me told me I was accepted into the program, with one last question. The question was simply for me to ask myself why I was wanting to be in the program. All these years later, I have never come up with an acceptable answer to that question and so obviously did not accept their invitation to enter the Phd program.

I reckon that my high school diploma and three college degrees allowed me to "escape" the East Texas oil field by giving me more options. At the same time, I shall always remain grateful that the oil patch gave me the incentive and the perspective to try to give myself a better chance in life to make a decent living.

(FOOTNOTE: For two of the three years I was a roughneck I worked for my Dad. As the "rig operator" or boss, Dad always made me work twice as hard as anyone else and made me do all the menial jobs as well. At the time Dad said it was because he didn't want anyone to think he was being partial to me because he was my parent. In later years, he told me his real motive was to make me so miserable with oil field work that I would have the incentive to make a better life for myself. THANK YOU DAD FOR THIS AND SO MANY OTHER VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS YOU MADE TO MY LIFE)