Powerhouse Science Center Education Director Sarah Margoles, left, shows Isabella Martinez, 4, a display at the Powerhouse on Wednesday morning. The Powerhouse’s programs will kick into high gear soon, offering camps for everything from drones to Harry Potter. It is but a smattering of educational opportunities in Durango this summer, for kids and adults./Photo by Jennaye Derge

Feel the learn

Summer as good a time as any to exercise the ol’ – and young – gray matter

by Joy Martin

As the last bell of the semester rings and graded papers fly across the lawn, the sound of gleeful whooping escapes bodies fleeing brick buildings to bike off into the first sunny afternoon of freedom. Cue guitar riff and Alice Cooper screaming over the shouts of children and teachers around town, “School’s out for summer,” and for some recent college graduates, “school’s out forever,” with fever, completely.

But not everyone’s looking forward to dazed-and-confused summer bliss. 

Over Tacos Nayarit the other night, I asked the youngest person I know if she’s a little excited or a lot excited for summer vacation.

“I guess a little excited,” sighs 7-year-old Charlie Bourdon, crunching a mouthful of tortilla chips. “I’ll just really miss ... learning.”

Beginning with the tutelage of kids who need a little reading help to retirees who are keen to learn French cooking styles, there’s a local program that embraces and edifies wherever you are on your learning path.

“People learn differently,” says Heather Otter, staff support at the newly opened Durango Academic Coaching Center (DACC). “And learning doesn’t have to happen at a desk. We all have styles we attach to. Some kids need doodling to process, for instance. Sometimes you have to learn to learn differently.”

Since only 10-percent of us are aural learners, most of us do not do well being “taught at” in a classroom setting. Rather, we’re a mixture of visual, read-write, and kinesthetic learners, meaning we need imagery, multiple-choice, and the opportunity to solve problems through trial and error.  

“Our local schools are amazing, but sometimes kids struggle and lose the passion for a subject,” says Sarah Tescher, founder of the DACC. “They get labeled, or they self-label, thinking, ‘I was never good at science, so I don’t like it.’ When this happens, a wall goes up.”

Tescher prefers the term “coach” over “tutor” because it evokes less pretentious phonetics and more team spirit.

“Coaching implies that you’re not telling, you’re asking ‘how can I help you get better?’” says Tescher, who also co-founded Devo in 2006. “You’re coming alongside and serving them as a coach.”

The DACC offers academic coaching for all subject areas from first grade to college-level courses. Some of the DACC tutors hold multiple masters, while others are eager high school students.

“Every student has the potential to learn and grow,” shares Tescher on the DACC website. “The trick is just finding their style of learning and supporting that.”

“With one-on-one coaching, a kid struggling with math might say ‘I conquered that.’ Then maybe he’ll even go to college and pursue a career in math, just because he had a different experience with it. Same with the kid struggling with science. He could have a different experience at the Powerhouse.”

The Powerhouse Science Center’s mission statement is “to spark curiosity, ignite imagination and power exploration.” Located in a historic coal-fired, steam-generated AC power plant on the banks of the Animas River, the Powerhouse combines formal and informal education in an attempt to target multiple learning styles, providing the perfect place for people of all ages to tinker with the wild world of energy, Tesla coils, fruit fly traps, frog feedings, and heart and eyeball dissections, to name a few.

“We’re essentially getting as many kids excited about learning as possible,” says Powerhouse Science Center Education Director Sarah Morgales.

“Sometimes all it takes is holding an eyeball,” says Otter, referring to an impressive experience her 9-year-old son had at the Powerhouse during a school trip.

“It’s powerful to see them interact with scientific phenomena,” says Stetson-Lee. “These things stick with them.”  

Beyond meeting the needs of struggling students, these educational conduits are partnering with each other to expand lifelong learning opportunities to adults.

“Because of the number of nonprofits and educational providers in our small community, it’s easy to think that there is a ton of competition out there,” says Morgales. “But I am happy to see the amount of collaboration going on between educational providers.”

“The students come first, and often what’s best for the students is for schools and educational providers to work together, eliminating duplications, inefficiencies and truly collaborating to provide the best educational experiences possible,” she says.

The DAEC’s Malone says that continued collaboration in Durango’s educational community is also what gets her most excited about local learning outlets. 

She explains that the DAEC provides last-chance educational programs for our community’s most vulnerable population through GED preparation and testing, tutoring, daily meals, onsite child care, financial assistance and comprehensive career advising. The Center also relies on outside organizations for learners to attain skills needed for economic and social mobility.

“Many of our learners have had some prior negative experiences with education, are often afraid to finish their education, and frequently have difficult living situations, which is a distraction from learning,” says Malone. “Earning a high school equivalency is quite an accomplishment for many of our learners who have overcome many barriers to complete their education.”

At the end of the day, learning is an emotional experience, shares the DACC’s Otter. “That’s what drives curiosity. You’re trying to find the right connections: face-to-face, hands-on, one-on-one, small group, whatever it takes. And when you get the right people together, magic happens.”

“The social connection found in learning environments helps people build toward a happier, longer life,” adds Dr. Barb, founder of DurangoLearns!

DurangoLearns! has been ramping up participation since the official launch in February 2016, says Dr. Barb (who goes only by her first name), adding more noncredit continuing education courses, like culinary and social media. It also has introduced a customized management and leadership training course, “Climb the Leadership Ladder,” along with a resurrection of the nonprofit training program in collaboration with the Professional Nonprofit Institute.  

Dr. Barb says she’s getting new instructors (called Learning Partners) all the time in addition to partnering with the coaches at Durango Academic Coaching.

“Everyone’s so engaged and excited to have someone to ask questions of, to explain those real-world connections,” beams Dr. Barb, who, like the other leading ladies of learning in Durango, has been involved in the land of academia her entire life.

“If you’re constantly learning, you’re exercising your brain,” says Tescher. “You don’t lose it if you use it.”

Perhaps something deep inside is nudging at your overworked, under-inspired intellect. The embers of curiosity smoldering in your parched soul. A spark of a question that begs to be answered. Tiny buds sprouting from those seeds planted by good teachers over the years and a few sporadic life-changing experiences that affirm something very human: we were born to learn. 

For you young students, give your thought-life a break from this year’s hefty dosage of memorization, regurgitation and mind-numbing classroom time. But once the ice cream hangovers wear off,  know that you don’t have to be sad like Charlie about putting learning on hold till September. Why not practice Spanish with coaches at the DACC or sign up for a Harry Potter, robotics or animal science camp at the Powerhouse? 

And for you adults out there who are bummed you can’t attend Harry Potter camp, check out one of the language or cooking classes through DurangoLearns!; register for the DAEC’s Math GED course you’ve been putting off; or unleash your inner geek and pour one out for Alice Cooper at a trivia night hosted by your favorite brewery or beloved Powerhouse throughout the summer. Innumerable classes and trainings are available starting yesterday, so pick one and get back in the learning game.

“No one should turn their brain off in summer,” says Tescher, adding that, just in case, math reboot classes will be offered through the DACC before school starts again in the fall.

Now go crank the volume on “Another Brick in the Wall” and eat some ice cream. You’ve earned a break.