Live and Learn New Mexico!

I recently watched another incredibly good documentary called The True Cost . It's about the fast fashion industry. I was just naive enough to think that this movie would not make me as angry as those about our food that I've watched lately. I was so wrong! It again came down to Monsanto and GMOs -- a cotton farmer who follows all of Monsanto's rules gets a brain tumor caused by Monsanto chemicals, has to turn to Monsanto for his medical treatment as well, dies anyway, and his wife switches to organic farming. More than that, though, the movie was about worldwide injustice and worker abuse in the name of a global economy. The more I've looked into how we learn, the more I've discovered regarding who we are as Americans, and I'm not liking it. Capitalists/big business are so good at finding opportunities to exploit. They are doing to other workers in other countries what they did and still do to workers in America. The difference is that US citizens have fo...

When I discovered the XQ Super School site and its directory, I was excited to build a team that would work together to meet this challenge. But it isn't that simple. I realized that the directory is a great way to get people to read my blog and to get the conversation started but I don't think I have a team that will help me do the Discover phase of the challenge. They are serving on other teams that they are closer to, I'm sure. I had also hoped to enlist the help of my colleagues who worked with me at UNM-Los Alamos on the adult ed program. But they have retired and aren't looking to start new adventures. I want them to enjoy retirement and get to know their families again. I need to pull those close to me together to get this done. I am going to enlist the help of my kids and their friends, with the promise that if we win this thing, they will have jobs. They are my staunchest supporters anyway. My son lives in Moriarty, and his girlfriend went to school the...

The deadline to submit any XQ Super School ideas was Sunday. I submitted the L&LNM idea a while back. Will our idea be good enough? I'm not sure because, even among those who have always supported me in my work, there is a clear non-understanding of some of what I'm talking about. The biggest concern seems to be my belief that no single school building will be needed to run this program. People hold onto the idea that we have to send our kids to a certain place to learn. Doesn't anyone listen to Sir Ken Robinson, my hero, who says over and over again -- Why do we put our kids in an artificial environment to teach them about real life? Jump out of that box, people!  The beauty of the L&LNM concept is that, in each New Mexico town we serve, the "learning community"  (what we will call our "classes", although I think we might need to call it a "learning team" at some point) decides the projects they will work on. There may be more th...

I attended a volunteer tutor training yesterday at OASIS in Albuquerque. I will be reading with an elementary school student one hour per week, starting in January. It was an informative session, and I'm looking forward to starting. There were about twenty people at the training, and one stood out to me because of her fear. Fear of what? I'm not sure but I'm thinking everything. Her biggest fear about reading with a student was that she would start off "making a mistake" by not getting the kid's reading level right. She seemed to think that any mistakes she might make would have devastating consequences for the student. Like so many of us these days, she wants to know the answers before she even begins. We still seem to think that teachers/tutors should have the answers to feed their students. We talk about education all the time but we don't talk about learning. So start thinking differently!!! It's as easy as that. Forget education, politics, ...

I just submitted the L&LNM concept for a new high school experience to the XQ Super School Challenge. They will get back to us and let us know if we're on the right track. In the meantime, we can start working on the Discover phase. Here's the first question we must answer: "What are your top three insights about the challenges facing your prospective students in the 21st century, both globally and in your community?  Provide up to 300 words and/or describe and upload 1-3 videos, images, data charts, or other pieces of evidence you can share with your community to illustrate your insights and why they are important." I've got some ideas here but would like to hear from anyone who wants to contribute. Please comment! I know many of you have been listening to our youth for a long time now. Here's your chance to share what you've learned and make a difference. Those of you who are our youth, please speak up. We need to hear from you.  I've...