Content area
Full Text
Patrick Reynolds wanted to enroll in the landscape architecture classes offered through UCLA Extension 10 years ago. He knew the four-year program offered the certification and knowledge he needed to enhance his landscaping business, but his two children were small and Reynolds had recently become a single parent.
With all the chaos going on in their lives, he said he couldn't in good conscience leave the kids with a baby-sitter to attend school two nights a week.
"I wanted to feel like they could handle my being gone," he said.
Three years ago, when a sagging economy slowed business and his children had become teen-agers, he thought the timing was right. A dad who had been available to his children at any given time now found himself missing school functions and spending weekends on his own homework.
"These have been real formative years for us. It's definitely a trade-off," said Reynolds of Torrance. "There's still not as much time for them as I feel they deserve. Kids at every age have needs to be met."
The number of working parents who return to school each year is difficult to determine-the U.S. Department of Education and other agencies don't keep track-but take a peek inside college classrooms across the country and you're likely to find more and more working moms and dads attempting to juggle family, work and school.
"We do it with smoke and mirrors," said Reynolds, 45. "It's been a real challenge. We talked about my going back to school, and you're talking to kids who are nodding their heads yes, (but) their actions say otherwise. My son being the younger one had the most difficult time. His behavior became erratic and his grades started slipping."
There have been many sit-down talks and meetings with teachers to straighten things out, Reynolds said.
It's not the size of the task that most parents in school find daunting. What can ruin your day, they say, is not knowing what will topple the balancing act. The key, they add, is trying to have a backup system.
Life has become much saner since...