Learning more

I've forgotten just what it takes to learn how to navigate in a new environment, for example a college environment. That's what my Engl 90 students are teaching me this semester.

Many haven't used computers before -- something I've not thought about for about four years, back when much of the discussion about technology and teaching reminded us to consider the "have nots" when it came to access. That conversation has died down because it seems as though more and more folks have access (laptops are a "mere" $400 these days!).

But I have students who don't have $400 for a laptop. They tell me stories of lost jobs, lost homes, having to put down a horse, having to move in with a brother's friend to sleep on a couch. These students come from all corners of the eastern suburbs, some driving an hour to class. They come from Hong Kong, Cambodia, Japan, Chicago, Memphis -- all cultures very different from White Bear Lake, MN. Many are in college for the first time in their 30s, 40s, and older.

Everybody's learning, it seems, especially me.