Live and Learn New Mexico!

My posts lately have been concentrating on getting our HSE program going but I did mention last post that I watched the documentary Cowspiracy on Netflix and had some thoughts that bring me back to earlier ideas for Live and Learn New Mexico! For those of you who have followed the L&LNM blog for a while, you read the post about Bosque Farms and how it was once the dairy capital of NM blah blah. I was living on an amazing property that had been built by WPA projects during the Depression. I proposed the idea that we start to live life on a community, rather than global, level -- that we bring NM's power back by bringing back some of those WPA-type programs. Then I watched  Cowspiracy  and I had to rethink all the ideas I had regarding Bosque Farms. Everything. In a nutshell, Cowspiracy 's message is that we are destroying our world by raising and killing animals for food, a practice that causes 51% of the global warming problem. Foiled Plans I can no longer...

I was encouraged Wednesday to have two returning students in class. But I think I am still going to implement the ideas I talked about in the post last week -- hold orientations, get students onto Khan Academy at the orientation. email assignments, refer them to online resources, and then meet with each student once a month at least. With that in mind, I am going to concentrate on building a program that can be done online and at each student's pace. Today, I will be sending all the students I've met with so far, returning or not, the assignments below to help them get to know the HiSET, the high school equivalency test L&LNM has chosen as an alternative to the Pearson-owned GED. Assignment 1: HiSET scavenger hunt Go to the HiSET website . Write answers in complete sentences for writing practice (no run-ons, fragments, or bullet lists): Name the five test subjects in the HiSET. How much does the HiSET cost? Where are the nearest testing centers? Watch one of vi...

It's been over a week since my high school reunion but I've still got it on my mind. One thing that happened on the tour of Los Alamos High School (LAHS) has been churning and eating away at me... We were standing in the A wing hallway, and the new superintendent of Los Alamos Public Schools, Kurt Steinhaus, talked about successes of the high school. He boasted that they had more National Merit semi-finalists than APS and Las Cruces schools combined. And I thought, Big woo. I wanted to ask what the schools were doing to ensure that the needs of struggling students are met but didn't. It wasn't the time or place. LAHS, actually Los Alamos in general, is the perfect example of how No Child Left Behind (NCLB) works when it works "well". It's all about the data. How can they raise test scores? How can they get their graduation rate up? I hear nothing about how they can serve the kids in their community. The only people I ever heard from in that town we...

The problem with offering adult education classes is getting students to attend on a regular basis. It has always been a challenge that I'm not sure L&LNM should spend so much time on. Why are we fighting the way things are? Why don't we find ways to work with the fact that adults don't really have time to regularly attend a high school equivalency prep class if they work and have a life? Every fiber of my being cries out to rein students in to a classroom and gain control over their progress but that is just perpetuating an outdated way of learning. If I'm trying to help them take charge of their own learning, how can I expect them to run to a class every week? The whole purpose of the class should be to help them empower themselves to study and prepare for the test on their own with support and encouragement from  Live and Learn New Mexico! We have come to believe that our services are meant to be primarily utilized online, and they won't really be class...

(repost/edited 5.23.16) I'm really starting to like the fact that, as a nonprofit, I do not have to follow the idiotic rules of running an adult education program funded by State and Federal dollars like I did in Los Alamos. So far, I'm the only one funding Live and Learn New Mexico! , with help from Mom and Dad (love you, miss you). Since I don't have to report to anyone on how my program is meeting their standards, I can concentrate on learning and not have to deal with stupid political processes. (I report to my board of directors but that's not the same thing. They don't fund Live and Learn New Mexico! Transparency is key there. Just be open about what I do, and the board usually is okay with it.) Having said that, however, there are many things I learned running the adult ed program at UNM-Los Alamos that I actually very much agree with. One is that we should look at data to inform our instruction. I like looking at the data that comes automatically wi...

Today's post is an experiment. I'm hoping that someone out there who did not graduate high school for whatever reason will try out the ideas in the post and let me know how they work for you.  I NEED FEEDBACK! YES, I'M YELLING!   I had my HSE (high school equivalency) prep class yesterday, and two new students joined us. However, one student from last week couldn't attend. But that's okay because my main goal with this class is to help my students learn to learn on their own, on their own time, in places they are comfortable, with meaningful resources at their fingertips, etc. I am just a facilitator and guide. Not being able to attend class does not mean that all learning stops. But I also want to make sure I give my students feedback in a timely manner so they can fix their mistakes before doing the next assignment. I was pleased to see that one student had done her homework so I collected her essay and today I reviewed it and emailed her with feedback. After ...

Now that I have started up one class in Rio Rancho, I'm eager to start working on setting up classes in the East Mountain area. Luckily, I discovered a newsletter yesterday in my mailbox that can help me get the word out. It's called the East Mountain Shopper , and their mission/vision is to "promote community, build relationships, strengthen the local economic market." I like that very much. So I took a look inside. In the introductory passage on the first page, I liked what they had to say about supporting local economies -- "we encourage you to be purposeful about taking advantage of local resources -- the farmer's market, the craft shows, and the services, skills, and businesses represented in our East Mountain neighborhoods." Also on the first page is a section called, "Spread the Word!", which introduces new businesses in the area for free. This is where I shall promote L&LNM. That will be my next task -- get something about L...

I'm preparing for my class at A New Awakening this evening, where we will be looking first at the HiSET (an alternative to the GED, which is owned by Pearson) and finding out together what we need to know to start preparing for the test. We will look at cost, test centers, rules, practice questions, etc. We will NOT be talking about the GED at all except to say that we choose the alternative HiSET, as allowed by the State.  Then, for math, we will go to Khan Academy  and I will have each sign up as students in my class. I will show them the pretest that will pinpoint areas in math that they need to work on. It will also set up lessons to help them with this. At the same time, as students in my class, I can see what they are working on during the week and get a better idea of what their needs are. Finally, I will send them home with a writing assignment so that I can get an idea of their writing skills. I will also give them a workbook to start looking at as a review of c...