Live and Learn New Mexico!

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....

My daughter Kelsey came home from her psych class the other day and shared an idea that has given me renewed energy. She told me her instructor had mentioned that drug addicts are often reluctant to go to rehab because they do not want to, or can't, leave their pets. Kelsey said she would like to do a project that would create a safe place for pets of addicts to stay while their owners are going through addiction programs or are incarcerated, whatever the needs are. Kelsey's soon-to-be mother-in-law and her friend will be moving to a property that could be used for the project. Most importantly, the property is located near Espanola, an area where these kinds of services could really make a difference. All Sorts of Possibilities Kelsey's idea has been on my brain since, and I see all the possibilities: As well as providing kennels and compassionate care to their pets, we could arrange for addicts to visit or be visited by their pets during their rehab process.  T...

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...

(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...