SLATE Real Basics Computer Workshop is Rewarding

Each month, I’ll be sharing a “Great Story” about my service with AmeriCorps St. Louis at SLATE Missouri Career Center. Below is my first story, about the basic computer skills workshops I’ve been teaching.

My first month or so at SLATE has been an eye-opening and rewarding experience. When I think to a time that exemplifies both of these overarching themes, I think to the Real Basics Computer Skills workshop I have taught.

Attendees range in age, sex, race and gender, but all have one thing in common: they know very little about the basic operation of computers. As the students trickle into the workshop room, a small classroom with nine computers, I greet them and tell them to have a seat at one of the computers. I watch as they sit dumbfounded by the machine in front of them. It appears that they are scared to touch it, as if it is an explosive with a lit fuse.

When I begin to deliver the information to them, their eyes widen. Many gaze into the screen, jaws dropped with amazement at the white arrow moving across the screen, along with their movement of the mouse. The mice, by the way, have been the older sets’ most challenging skill to learn. Aged hands, often arthritic from years of labor, have a hard time maneuvering the small, delicate electronic devices. Patience is practiced here on both the student and teacher’s end, especially when it comes to the dreaded double-click!

With a few laughs and practice, by the end of the hour-and-a-half session, about half the class feels comfortable with the materials. Others, still unsure about the new world of technology that has been unleashed upon them, ask if they can come back next week. Many do. In fact, for the three weeks I’ve taught the class, a few students have been to each session. They are slowly improving and arrive with a positive, dedicated demeanor that makes me happy to assist them for as long as it may take.

This experience is eye-opening because, having grown up in a generation that was born double-clicking, I’ve never had the difficulty that some students do. It’s hard to imagine what it must be like for people who have gone more than half a century from not needing or wanting to touch a computer to now relying on the mystery machine to find their next paycheck. I am thankful that this potentially frustrating circumstance has not, at least on the surface, ruined the students’ desire to continue learning and practicing this evolving technology.

Coming up next: I’m still working on finishing Deepak Chopra’s new book…a review and insight on that to come!

Update!

For anyone out there still reading this lil blog, I am still alive!

I’ve had trouble deciding what to write about, though there hasn’t been a shortage of interesting happenings in my life since August 14th (the last time I posted!).

One of the biggest changes in my life has been my new position as a Member of AmeriCorps, the Career Corps, specifically. The Career Corps is a new program for AmeriCorps-St. Louis, which was designed to help alleviate the overcrowding in career centers across the state of Missouri. So, for the past month or so (man, it’s gone by fast!), I’ve been serving at SLATE (St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment) Missouri Career Center in downtown St. Louis.

My efforts have mainly been dedicated to assisting our clients while they search and apply for jobs online. There is a huge portion of our population that hasn’t the faintest idea how a computer works. So, I teach two classes here, one on the basics of computers (how a mouse works, what the desktop is, etc.) and how to use email (go GMAIL!).

The work is rewarding, and I’m learning a lot about people, myself and the state of our economy today. I wouldn’t have though when I moved to St. Louis that I’d be serving the community in such a way, but I’m glad I chose to take this path. The next 10 months or so (the length of my service with AmeriCorps) will probably end up being one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life.

I’m still teaching yoga! I teach five classes throughout the week, and I love seeing my students GROW! It’s so great to see how they are progressing in their own practices, and I enjoy seeing people return again and again for my classes! Teaching (yoga or computers) is so rewarding for me…I’m toying with the idea of graduate school…maybe I will teach yoga and writing for a living someday

I’ve got a few exciting posts coming up. On Monday, I attended a book club meeting with a special guest–Deepak Chopra! So, I will tell you all about that…I’m trying to finish the book before I post, so hold on tight (I’m more than 1/2 way finished!).

Also, last night, I experienced my first Reiki therapy session. I’m going to give the treatment a few days to “kick in,” so check back for that as well!

Wow, I’m so happy to be writing again…even if no one reads this!

Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know if there are any topics you would like to read about! I love constructive feedback!

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Nope…don’t like foam.

I don’t like Styrofoam. Never really realized why until today.

 

I read this article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about using Styrofoam to fill in an underground tunnel in downtown St. Louis. The foam will not expand sideways and crumble antiquated buildings’ basement walls. I wasn’t satisfied with the article’s explanation of environmental concerns and the fact that the paper’s misleading use of the term “green” in the photo accompanying the online story (no image in print).

 

So, I looked into it.

 

Here is just a bit of what I found: 

 

Polystyrene (aka Styrofoam):

Is made of nasty chemicals (aka. bad for the workers making it, the area in which it is made)

It leaches these chemicals that can cause health problems to the consumer

It is not a “closed loop” recyclable product (A foam cup doesn’t become another. It goes into something else, and new foam must be made for more cups.) 

I got all of this from here. Check it out for more info. 

 

I would like to know if the foam will be “recycled,” and if they are doing anything to protect the foam from leaching! Ahhhhh, right into the Mississippi! 

 

On another note, also in this article from the Post, funding for this and other road projects is coming mostly from the stimulus package. There are a ton of bus stops in my neighborhood (most, in fact) that are closed for lack of funding. Why are we relying more and more on the automobile? (Also on the front page today: biofuel.) 

Final irony: the tunnel they are filling in with foam was once used for passenger trains. There was a tunnel under the Mississippi River to Illinois!!!! Runs were suspended in favor of the automobile.

Inspiration…Move Me Brightly

Hello, blog, remember me…it’s been a while…I know, I know…

I have some good and bad excuses, laziness being at the top, I’m afraid. My creative juices have been tapped and drained by my paying freelance gigs lately, and I’ve been left with little to share with my blog friends (the few following). 

First, let me say HAPPY EARTH DAY! I hope you all figure out something to do today to celebrate MOTHER EARTH! I’m going to a yoga event under The Arch today at noon! 

Back to this blog post…Really, a lot has been going on. I’ve moved to a totally new city…HELLO?! St. Louis, the Gateway to the West ….oooooooooooooooo…….aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah  

Highlights of my life here so far include: MY PLACE! Zach and I live in two-bedroom flat, with an office, living room, dining room, kitchen and SUN ROOM! It’s awesome…a great place to work from home! Here are some pics:

We’re on the second floor. Our neighbor is nice!

The living and dining rooms are filled with SUN in the morning!

Home Office

A nice big kitchen for making delish veggie meals!

The bedroom and sun room…so relaxing!

I’ve been trying not to spend all my time at home…even though last week was soooo rainy! I’ve taken a couple bike rides to Tower Grove Park and Francis Park. Both are very close and so beautiful. The fountains and gardens in both reminded me of the parks in London…so well tended and rich feeling! 

I’ve also started to get involved in the community. Starting May 3, I will be teaching FREE community classes on Sundays at 10 a.m. at Southtown Yoga. I love this studio, the staff and students. Living in the suburbs of Chicago before, I was usually the youngest, most advanced student in the classes I attended outside of my teacher training. Now, I feel a lot more challenged and have more experienced teachers to help me develop my practice more! I’m very excited about this! 

Happy Spring everyone! I hope to update more frequently and take some pictures of the area…I can’t wait until things are blooming at the Missouri Botanical Gardens! 

I Have Arrived

FINALLY got my Internet set up! Fells great to be sitting on my couch checking my email. I finally feel like I’m settled in to  my new place! 

I woke up at 4 a.m. Saturday, April 4, 2009, to move from Cary, Illinois to St. Louis, Missouri. I got into my car, which I had packed the night before, nearly to the brim, with my most precious belongings: my clothes, yoga stuff, picture frames, decorative items from my room, the quilt my grandmother sewed me and my plants–they got shotgun.

I followed my dad and mom, he in the U-Haul and she in her car, to St. Louis. I had made the trip oh so many times before, and it’s a pretty long trip (between five and six hours), especially by yourself. I think the fact that I knew this trip down I-55 was going to be the last in a while made the time fly. (I didn’t even listen to a book on tape, which is standard for me on these hauls.) 

We arrived at our flat at about 10 a.m. The first 24 hours flew by. It is a blur of moving and unpacking and saying goodbye. I’m an only child leaving the nest, I think it is going to be an interesting transition for all of us–not one we’re not ready for, though.

Things are going great. It’s been 11 days and I’ve got to do and see a lot. Zach got me a new-to-me bike for my birthday! So, on a nice day (there haven’t been many yet…mostly rain), I took a ride to and around Tower Grove Park. It was fun! I love spring! 

I’ve also been to two of the neighborhood eateries. Murdoch Perk and Macklind Avenue Deli. Both had delish food, nice people and free wifi! 

I’m also teaching yoga at a local gym and studio. And, I’ve got some intriguing freelance stuff in the works! I’m very excited. When the weather gets nice, I will take some photos. There’s bound to be some great color with all this water!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

This week is a very exciting time for me. I am packing up to move out of my parent’s house and into my first apartment! I’ll be sharing an apartment in St. Louis with my boyfriend, Zach. So, I’m not only growing up and becoming independent of my parents; I’ll also be taking the next step in my relationship. On top of the move, I am going to be working freelance. I’m going to be my own boss at 24! How amazing is that?! 

Oddly enough, I’m not all that nervous. This relaxed feeling is the only unsettling thing about this transition. Shouldn’t I be a wreck?! Maybe it all just hasn’t settled in yet. Perhaps I’ll have a breakdown come Friday, when I’m filling up a U-Haul with all of my belongings and staring at the empty bedroom I’ve had since puberty. 

I think a big reason I’m so calm and collected now is that this move has been a long time coming. Zach (my boyfriend) and I have spent the last two years of our more than four-year relationship long distance. Moving in together has always been the natural thing to do. And, having spent a ridiculous amount of time together in college, I’m prepared for the quirks that living together will bring. I guess I have no reasons to be worried…but that’s what I’m worried about. 

Is it weird to be unsettled by things being settled?

Missouri Botanical Gardens

I spent this past weekend in St. Louis with my boyfriend, Zach, and friends, Katie, Katie and Suzy. We had a great time. On Friday, Katie and I went to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Here are some shots from our splendid day!