Well I have been bent out of shape for a couple of days. It pisses me off the more I think about it. As you all know I am going to school to get my funeral directors license. I was going to follow that up with classes to get my embalmers license. I am doing it online. I only have 4 classes left for my FD lic. I am currently taking 2 of those during this summer session. Then I will finish up the last 2 in the fall semester.
That means this fall I have 2 slots for classes. So I can start my embalming classes. Well I found out that they are droping the online microbiology classes. I was told I would need to find another school to take that at, either attend class locally. (only private colleges here, so nice and expensive, if they allow me to do that, and I would probility be required to get a laptop. stupid for just one class). Add to that I have to take freshman math, not required for me to become an embalmer, but the school requires it for the degree (what a scam to force you to take more classes you don't need to fill thier pockets, and at 49 years of age i don't need a well rounded education) Also Amarillo college doesn't accept A.C.E. credits. (that is credit for classes I took while in the Marine Corps. and when you got to Fire direction and operations chief school there is tons of math there). Many schools do accept ACE credits. I was told the reason Amarillo college doesn't accept ACE credits is because of the engineering dept. and it has to be an all or nothing thing for colleges to accept ace credit. Well thank you Amarillo college for supporting the efforts of our service men and women.
Now here is the kicker. Because it has been so long since I got out of high school, I had to take the Accuplacer test, and my scores were good, except my math, it was barely too low, so here is my options, I can take 3 math classes before I take freshman math, or I can take a refresher class, (math, reading, english) and then retake the accuplacer test. And you know no matter what option I pick, it is going to take more of my time, and my MONEY.
So I am thinking that I might just finish up my funeral director classes. Then check into the other colleges that Texas accepts for online training, and see it they accept ACE credits. Oh course if I do that I will have to pay out of state tutition. Amarillo college is the only school in Texas that that the texas funeral commision accepts. I don't remember 2 of them, but I know one is Arapahoe college in Colorado. which is really funny. Colorado is the only state that does not require that funeral directors and embalmers to be licensed. I will have to get on the funeral commission website and find out what those other two colleges are again.
One has to wonder about the whole education process anyway. Every funeral director I have talked to always says as soon as you pass your national board exams, forget everything you learned in school, none of it will do you any good. You learn what you really need on the job.
Thing is what you learn in school and the board exams are suposed to be set up by funeral directors. I was reading in one of the trade magazines last year that at the national convention this year they were going to discuss re-writing the board exams, they want to remove some of the embalming test and replace it with accounting questions. (I am sure cpa's all over the country will love that). I don't know if the changes were approved or not. I know a lot of funeral directors were really pissed off at that idea. Why would they even concider it. Unless it is being pushed by the corporate owned funeral homes. I guess they are more worried about thier funeral directors that run the homes they own, be able to do the books right, to them that is more important than doing a good job of embalming a body.
We really have a messed up world. Right now I feel like saying screw it all.
