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Live and Learn New Mexico! is a blog that celebrates and honors all the great things about our beautiful state.

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The Los Alamos Factor

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I have an organizational meeting for the XQ Super School Challenge in Los Alamos this coming Tuesday, and I have knots in my stomach. Why am I even bothering with Los Alamos when my program is a statewide one and I don't have to have anything to do with that community if it makes me so uncomfortable? I grew up there and many years after graduation returned to live there for 13 years but that isn't the reason. I think it's because I see so much potential for the town. I started having ideas about how students could be better served there when I was running the GED program at UNM-Los Alamos. It is a mean-spirited community, though, very arrogant, very judge-y. If I didn't know that there are students and parents who suffer deeply because of the emphasis placed on succeeding in school, I think I could leave it behind. It is a town that makes everything a competition, even our kids' learning. It is also a town that makes the parents feel that they are the ones
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the old fashioned way

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I discovered that the local paper is delivered free to my driveway once a week, or maybe less. I like local newspapers. That is how I found out about the Juvenile Justice Board meeting this month. When I was running the adult ed program at UNM-Los Alamos, I realized that I was reaching out to the wrong organizations in the community. The schools weren't interested in partnering with me to better serve the kids in the district, and our partnership with LANL really didn't serve the populations I hoped to serve, but the LANL Foundation did. They give grants to schools in northern NM and they really make a difference. It isn't just about Los Alamos. In fact, I highly recommend any educational conference they put on. They are usually at a casino in the Santa Fe area and the schools that get grants attend. The keynote speaker is always excellent. Back to the point...when I realized I was reaching out to the wrong people in Los Alamos, I started attending meetin
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Doggie play days

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Kahlua is about six years old now. I love her -- she's the smartest dog I've ever known, and she loves her doggie life. But she didn't always have it so good. For the first year or so of her life, she lived in the abandoned mobile home on the property next to mine. Her owners asked my son to take care of her when they abruptly moved out a few years ago. Danny would go to the mobile home each day and feed her and let her run around outside.  Honestly, the dog irritated the hell out of me but still, I couldn't stand watching it happen. I told Danny to bring her over. Even though she quite gleefully killed my chickens in a matter of days, I knew quickly that she was a soulmate. She's been with me since, reminding me every day just how beautiful life is. Because she greets every day with doggie gratitude and celebrates it in her Kahlua way...open hearted... positive...funny. 
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