Rethink Learning Now

Most of my education was spent in long hours of frustration. I had learning difficulties from the very beginning. At the school psychologist's bidding, I was held back in the fourth grade. This did not help much academically and, even worse, I was devastated watching my peers move ahead without me.

I struggled through high school and upon graduation, hoped for college, but realistically expected a career in auto mechanics. Reaching for my higher education dream, I...

One of the most educational experiences of my undergraduate years occurred during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years. I spent the summer working in the microbiology lab of a factory near my home to earn money for college. One of the microbiologists was an African-American man. We had many candid discussions that summer about race, including his many experiences with discrimination. His willingness to share his experiences transformed the way I interact publicly. For...

My learning story is also about teaching. After spending some years teaching high school English, I took a break to raise my two babies. During my pregnancies, I rediscovered and rededicated myself to my yoga practice. Yoga was one of those things that didn't come naturally to me but that I loved somehow, and pre-natal classes allowed for a gentle, welcoming reintroduction. After giving birth to two babies in two years, I found myself back on the mat. One of my teachers, Anna...

A great teacher's lesson can give you goosebumps and, if you're lucky, mindbumps too.

Marlene was my English Teacher and Choir Director in High School. She was everywhere. If your jacket smelled like stale cigarette smoke, she would let you have it. In the classroom, she shined some light into your lazy, dormant, misunderstood, overactive, apathetic or whatever-other-state your adolescent mind might've been in, and actually got you up in front of the class to act out...

I still remember every book I was asked to read for Dr. Tom Nolen's class, "The One and the Many." It was my first semester at Northern Arizona University. I entered the classroom curious -- but also defined. Raised a devout and conservative Christian, I had helped my family start a church and began giving sermons when I was 14. At 16, my charisma and speaking gifts had me sharing a sermon about every other month with a congregation of 260 people. I was the student...