Live and Learn New Mexico!

I always wanted to write. When I was a kid, I was going to write a novel that would be turned into a movie. That h as n't happened...yet. At the different jobs I held over the years, I wrote reports and grant proposals. I analyzed the data and told everyone what it meant. I was more of a technical writer than anything else. I worked at both Los Alamos National Lab and Sandia Labs as a writer/editor and did a lot of Web work.  Then I discovered blogging and that is what I think I am in part -- a blogger. This led to activism as I started writing about standardized testing, learning, teaching...then along came A.R.T. and the big one -- DAPL.  Curating the Good Stuff As I've worked on social media over the last two years, promoting L&LNM, I also became a curator-- someone who finds those who are saying and doing important things and then shares them with others on social media.  I've been reading Ten Little Indians  by Sherman Alexie. He wrote th...

Michelle Worley, L&LNM. We were planning to get out and blog Abq's Central Avenue but it's super windy out and it ain't happening. So I decided to blog about Madrid, NM, the quirky little town we all know about but do we really?  I found out there is a lot I didn't know. This is what I learned: 1. The derelict house there on the main street, the only one that has not been maintained, seems to be occupied. I think there should be such a house in every little town. They make for great scary stories among the kids.  2. Madrid had the first lighted ballpark west of the Mississippi (thanks to Paul for that info). The photo on this post is one Paul found of a baseball game in Madrid in the 1930s. 3. The "sign" of the trumpeter that is located in the ballpark is not a sign but an old Christmas decoration. This information from Caroline led me to look into it further. According to http://www.visitmadridnm.com/history/ -- "Beginning in the ...

Michelle Worley here, L&LNM blogging today about the beautiful Turquoise Trail, as I've done before, but this time I'm taking a look at the dark side -- the litter. I wasn't aware that there was so much trash along the side of the highway until my son, Daniel, and his companion, Mariah, decided to collect cans to make a little extra money. They rode their bikes up the Trail from Cedar Crest to the Lazy Lizard bar, which is next to a gas station/convenience store. They figured there would probably be some cans around there. They were right. I think it was the guide at the OASIS walk I went on last week who told us about how someone put little flags everywhere a dog had done its business out in the area we were walking. There were so many bright flags that it looked like a field of flowers. If we did the same with every piece of litter, every can, we saw on a strip of the Turquoise Trail, would it look like a field of flowers? I'm not going to go so far as t...

I didn't bother to watch the debate Monday. I am not interested in what those two presidential candidates have to say. The candidates I would have liked to hear from were not represented, which reinforces my decision to not support a corrupt system by actually voting in a sham election that reads more like a bad television reality show. I am much more captivated by what is happening with the Dakota Access Pipeline. Now there's democracy in action,  the very people who were in this country in the first place exercising their right to speak out -- literally raising their voices -- against corruption and greed. And yet, I am hearing nothing of it on my favorite radio morning show or from mainstream news. What's up with that? So I plan to blog about it long and loud, get the word out in my own small way. I've signed the No DAPL petition and pledged to send supplies to Standing Rock this week. I'm Liking and Sharing Facebook posts. I'll keep this short today a...

I've been fascinated by the DAPL protest, watching people whose rights have long been violated stand strong against American capitalism/corporatocracy and take their power back. This is much more than a protest against something that will hurt our planet -- it's also oppressed/underserved populations realizing that they have a voice and using it. I have had many feelings about the protest. I wanted to go to Standing Rock and show my support but it didn't feel right.  I have absolutely no American Indian blood in me and because of that, this protest just seemed like something I can't be a part of. But I still want to find a way to show my support because this issue -- jeopardizing water supplies in the name of money -- is one the world should be paying attention to.  Leading the Way Who has stood up to lead the charge? The tribes, pueblos, first nations, indigenous cultures around the continent and even the world, of course. I'm watching it play out on social medi...

Today I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around the tragedy of Victoria Martens, who was killed by her mother and two other meth addicts a few weeks ago. More of Victoria's story has come out since and it isn't pretty. In fact, it's so ugly, I can't quit crying for that little girl who deserved so much better.  I know, too, that Victoria isn't the only child out there in desperate need of help, and obviously, agencies like CYFD aren't able to solve all the problems. They never will be, either, as long as we work on a money model. I could go on about money but I'm tired of it. I would rather look at things with some common sense and compassion.  What if we tried tackling this problem as a community? What if it wasn't about money at all but resources?  I listened to the conversation about Victoria on my favorite radio station this morning and the point was made that teachers had reported concerns about her a while back but CYFD's actions w...

Today, I attended a CNPE seminar about the role of the intern in a nonprofit setting. I learned a lot about the differences between volunteers, interns, and work study students.  As I learn how to establish and run L&LNM, I continue to strongly feel that really there isn't much strength behind the nonprofit. We have to do everything within a capitalist model -- we still have to compete for funds and follow employment laws. Secure jobs and money are still the "reward" we all call the American dream.  I get it but I don't. What is the point of being a nonprofit if we have to make it all about money? I believe that money isn't the answer to any of our problems, that we can do a lot without spending a dime.  Back to the seminar -- just in time, one of the presenters mentioned that nonprofits can offer non-monetary incentives to their volunteers, as long as they aren't brand new cars or something. A gift card or a pizza party would work. I thou...

I went to the Outside of the Classroom meeting yesterday. Good turnout. There were many young people there, many paid to attend, which is fine. We live in a capitalist society; every effort we make should be rewarded with money, right? We have to play the game for now. I paid my daughter, who helps me with L&LNM, to go with me. I have to say it was nice to talk about what we learned in the car on the way home. I learned a lot. I learned that, in all the years I've worked in education, the conversation hasn't changed one bit. At this meeting, we participated in a world cafe activity,  where you talk with one group about a topic, report out to the group at large, then regroup and talk about a follow-up topic and again, report out. The topics centered around the systemic problems we see in our education system, the mindsets we need to break free from, etc. But the conversation was the same old stuff that had little to do with systemic problems. The same ideas of hel...

L&LNM would like to start a program that converts houses from oil/gas to solar/wind/sustainable energy. We would convert one house at a time, and the people who own the house, their neighbors, etc. will do the work with help from local businesses/schools.  In many towns, there is a Rotary Club or similar organization, and they often award small grants for projects like this. A small grant could be all it takes to convert one house to solar. After one house is converted, those who worked on it and learned can help with the next house.  People are gaining skills that could get them jobs but more importantly, people are helping each other achieve incredible things without going into debt. Communities are pulling together to solve problems. Short post today so use that time you just saved not reading and go out and learn something new!

Live and Learn New Mexico! (L&LNM) has been focusing on getting the word out that we are here to help New Mexicans learn toward a better life. This spring, we have been concentrating on the New Mexico part of our name. We have been researching, blogging, and curating (supporting other NM organizations on Facebook by Liking and Sharing their posts).  Just as we suspected, New Mexico is full of amazing people who know we can change things for the better if we just pull together as communities and help each other succeed.   For the last year and a half, as I've been blogging and putting my posts on Facebook, I've "boosted" some by paying to get the post out to more people. This worked to build a following but I discovered that FB will only help so much.  If I boosted one post twice, for example, I'm pretty sure FB just re-sent it to the same people I paid to reach the first time. Boosting a post twice was a waste of money. Then a kind person read one o...

I have never been more ashamed and embarrassed to be an American, so much so that I feel the need to explain to other ordinary people who don't live in the US that I am not what my government purports me to be. 1. I'm not a capitalist. I've spent my adult life trying to get that good job with benefits. I played the game, competed, job hopped, moved up the career ladder. It took me a long time to realize that basically I was providing cheap slave labor for businesses that gave me NOTHING in return. Why was I working so hard when my employers in no way, shape, or form cared about me, and when I felt no confidence that I would be able to retire EVER? 2. I am not a member of a democracy. The average American has no voice at all. Elections are rigged. Political processes are a joke. Presidential candidates are a joke. Our government shares a bed with big business. It's all about money, and I'm tired of money. The correct term for what we are is Corporatocracy.  ...

This is my first week volunteering for Bethel Storehouse in Moriarty, and I have talked to them about offering a free high school equivalency test preparation seminar. They offer many services like that to residents in the area. They were open to the idea. So I started thinking... We won't offer a regular class unless we see the need. What we will offer is a monthly (or more often if needed), 2-hour session to show people where to register for a GED/HSE (high school equivalency) test, find websites to help them prepare (e.g., Khan Academy, Google), and other helpful information they might need. We can also offer tutoring hours for those who might need some one-on-one help and for those who have no computer at home. This means we need tutors/teachers and computers/internet access. Could we use Bethel Storehouse space to have a tutor be around a few hours a week for walk-in help? I will check on that. I also need to find the closest public library. They usually have computers ...

Michelle Worley here. I was looking at old blog posts and decided to update this one. I think the message is good, and I have more readers now. Woo hoo! Enjoy. Ten years ago, I was stressed out, and that resulted in some serious weight gain. My blood pressure was off the charts, and my cholesterol was high. I started taking prescription drugs but didn't like them. They worked but very slowly, and they had side effects that made no sense to me. My parents, especially my mom, were firm believers in the power of prescription drugs. Maybe it's because so many breakthroughs in medicine were made in their lifetime. My mom went to the doctor for every little thing. She even volunteered at the local hospital after she retired. She died in a hospital of a hospital-acquired respiratory ailment. I've hated going to doctors all my life and luckily, never really needed to see them but at one time as an adult, I came to believe in preventive medicine, which to me was a yearly exam....

So I drove into town today just to get out and feel sorry for myself because L&LNM did not make it to the next round of the XQ super school challenge. I needed some music therapy, and that is best done in the car on the road. My first choice to listen to is almost always the Imagine Dragons. They were the ones whose song, Trouble , got me home after my stressful high school reunion -- "I took a photograph of me, I was only 19, I looked a little lost at sea, I keep trying to find me." I'm home again today, and I feel much better. Thank you, the Imagine Dragons, for your song, Underdog -- "That sounds like my luck. I get the short end of it. I love to be the underdog." As I listened to the song, I started thinking...isn't that what New Mexico is in a way -- the underdog? And don't we kind of like being the underdog because it sets us apart, and there's so much potential there?  Also, underdogs are the ones people root for. I say let's e...

I haven't blogged in a while, mainly because after entering the XQ Super School challenge, I was tired. I needed a break. But I also had little to say, and I haven't been feeling passionate about too much. I decided to ride out the bloggy feeling... Then the new season of The Voice started. I love the show, as many do. More than I do the contestants, I have found myself watching how the coaches have learned and grown as coaches over the years. I only recently realized that what is happening on this show is a good example of what I would like to see happening in our kids' learning. Is it that important to win? The Voice is a competition, of course, with many levels. First, there is the level of the singers who compete in teams then as individuals to ultimately win. Then there is the level of the coaches. If a team member wins, their coach wins as well. Like teachers in our public school system, they are judged on how well they coach their teams to success. If you wat...

I've known all my life how much music can heal. Whenever I need to, I cocoon myself in my car, crank up the Imagine Dragons, the Killers, Beck, or Sara Bareilles and just drive. When I emerge later, I feel better. Music is emotion. Music is expression. Music is memory, as I found out when I watched Alive Inside , a documentary about how music can unlock memories and emotions in Alzheimer's patients. I cried through the whole thing. But it was amazing to see how music could bring life back to those who had none. Amazing! In the movie, patients in nursing homes listen to music of their generation with headphones, and it unlocks memories they couldn't access otherwise. Makes total sense to me. Remember the show Dateline? They had a Dateline Timeline, where they would have a trivia question -- what year did these things happen? They would then give you a few clues, one usually a song. I could always guess the year by the music clue -- for example, I knew what was happening ...

It's becoming clear to me that if anything calls itself a reform movement, we should be suspicious. I don't think I need to explain that further as far as education reform goes but after watching the first half of Hot Coffee , a documentary that looks at the case of the elderly woman who sued McDonald's for serving too hot coffee, I feel the need to talk about a few things. WARNING: there will be a lot of bolding, italisizing, and all capping as I need as many ways as possible to emphasize some points. The frivolous lawsuit The coffee case became the epitome of the "frivolous lawsuit", and the poor woman in the case became the target of jokes across the nation. Now that I know more, I feel really bad because I, too, fell for it to a certain extent. I remember thinking, though, that there had to be more to it, that if a jury found the restaurant guilty, there was a reason. Turns out there were many reasons, starting with the fact that there had been at leas...

I've written before about capitalism and how it cannot possibly work in conjunction with democracy, and which is more important blah blah. Well, I've got more. I'm "flipping" it and approaching it from a different perspective, that of a reasonable American who wants to save the planet. I started to watch FrackNation but had to turn it off when I got sick to my stomach over all the capitalism being crammed down farmers' throats. The movie is a retort to the fracking issue brought up in Gasland . Basically, it interviews farmers who say that they need those fracking wells on their property; otherwise, they couldn't make ends meet. They can't survive just by farming alone; they are forced to house these wells, and the worst thing of all is that they think the wells are a good thing! I'm thinking, why can't we support them as farmers and make sure they can make a living that way instead of forcing them to do business with frackers? Obama's a...

Over the last two years, as I've researched and blogged, I've come to believe that L&LNM can help New Mexicans live happier lives by showing them ways to pull themselves out of debt. This doesn't mean giving them money to pay off their credit card bills but teaching them ways to cut costs in other areas so they can put extra money to paying off their debt. As a bonus, the ideas I hope will become reality also contribute to the effort to make our planet healthier. Although our focus has changed from specifics like offering high school equivalency classes to bigger concepts like learning how to counteract dysfunctional economic systems and global warming, our vision and mission statements hold true. I've been talking to a friend about projects that we could start looking into with this new focus. She is a member of the Rotary Club in Los Alamos, and they are always looking for worthy causes to contribute to. My friend said that the club is looking for ways to he...

After I published my last blog post, New Mexico Dreaming , I got to thinking...there is so much more to picking out which NM towns the L&LNM super school would start with than simply looking at how many Likes we have on our Facebook page. That would be a very NCLB way to look at it. OMG! I can't believe I was thinking that way! Before the XQ Challenge even happened, I was discovering NM communities that seemed to have the desire to revitalize their towns and were also using Facebook to get their message across. I follow the Facebook pages of different community Main Street Projects, and I discovered somewhere along the line that Silver City is a music city. They have a lot of great local bands playing down there. In Tucumcari, I discovered Tucumcari and Quay County Then and Now, which made me more aware of their rich heritage. I also follow pages like City of Dust, New Mexico Museum of Art, Que Viva Espanola,  and Memories and Photos in NM . Some of these pages represent ...

I woke up feeling a little defeated about the XQ Super School Challenge. It is starting to feel like a battle and it's difficult to keep myself in the right frame of mind -- this isn't a battle; it's the beginning of a discussion across the state that needs to happen. We all win because we are talking about it. Yeah, right. Still, I'd really like to win this thing. So today I'm daydreaming -- a truly wonderful habit for learners who look to the future. I'm imagining what my first steps would be if we won the XQ Challenge. As I've mentioned many times before, I love to look at the Blogger and Facebook data to see who is reading my blog posts, who likes the L&LNM Facebook page, where those who read the blog live... I looked at Facebook data to see which communities in NM were liking the L&LNM page. I'm thinking that the NM communities that are liking our page the most are the ones we should start our school with, if they are interested. Thos...

I've been learning more about the fracking industry and its effects on unsuspecting Americans and our planet. It is appalling, especially when you stop to consider the fact that we have clean energy technology that has no detrimental effects on anyone. We could be using clean energy now but -- OMG!! -- that would mean big business Oil and Gas would lose money, perhaps even go out of business. Instead, the government has passed laws that allow fracking operations in states like Colorado. People live in Colorado to get away from busy city life and pollution. Fracking has brought pollution, illness, and financial ruin to many of them. When they tried to get help, there was no one to turn to, not when our government makes laws to protect fracking, up to the point where frackers are allowed to contaminate drinking water. While we are trying to conserve water to the point where many of us take 5-minute showers and collect rain water, the government pours tons of water into fracking o...