Learning to Save the Planet

(This is a repost from 12.3.2015, changed up a little)
For the past year, my daughter has been driving from Cedar Crest into Abq for her classes at UNM, and it is stressful for her, given the number of crazy stupid aggressive drivers out there.

Every time Kelsey leaves for her class, I worry until she returns home. Often, she fights the traffic to class only to have it canceled. That is when I start to get angry about her unnecessary stress, traffic in Abq, and wasting my money on gas/mileage/parking/tuition so my kid can get to a canceled class.

So let's revisit my (and many others') idea to bring learning to the local level and use online resources as well to redesign our kids' learning experiences and to reflect true life.

Kelsey takes dance classes. That, of course, is a class best done in person, not online. One of her instructors has a dance studio in Edgewood but she drives to UNM each class to teach there. Why can't she have the class at her studio? Many students would rather go to Edgewood than fight Abq traffic, especially those who live east of Abq anyway, and many many do. The time/distance is the same.

What would be the result of making that one simple change?

• Kelsey's drive would be much less stressful. 
• She wouldn't have to pay for parking. 
• Her instructor would be less likely to cancel a class because she can't get to Abq either. 
• Attendance would be better. 
• They would enjoy the class more because they didn't have to fight all odds just to get there. 

I know that UNM's College of Education did just that. They had classes at local schools in different neighborhoods where their students live, including Los Lunas and other outlying areas. I don't know if they plan to continue doing this. I hope so.

Now let's look at a big lecture hall class with lots of students whose attendance is tracked with clickers. They have to drive to class, pay for parking that they shouldn't have to pay for, and rush to a class where they are just another click.

The same class could be so much more if it were done online. If students didn't have to fight so hard just to get to class, they could concentrate on the class itself, and instructors would benefit in the same ways. I'd be willing to bet, too, that instructors would get to know their students better and would be able to better evaluate their learning.


Now let's look at the BIG picture:

• If students and instructors were not driving to class at a big campus in Abq, and instead were attending classes locally and online, they would be helping to reduce the environmental footprint. By the way, this applies to how we do our work, too. 
• Expand this idea to the public schools and we would benefit from not having school buses transporting kids to a central location and parents in cars dropping their kids off at school. 
• If our kids are not all gathered in a central location, there will be fewer instances of mass shootings. Seriously. 
• Local classes can lead to more community involvement.
• We could concentrate on learning. There would be more time to learn.
• People might actually be happier. 

That's all I have for today. Go out and learn something new, New Mexico!