Connecting the dots of learning

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN

You ought to come down to the East Lake Library and see what’s happening these days! Since September, a staff person from Learning Dreams has been seated near the library’s back entrance every Thursday and Sunday afternoon from 1:30-4:30. If you have time, you’ll be asked to tell them your learning dreams: what you would choose to learn if you had no obstacles.

Learning Dreams Executive Director Dr. Jerry Stein and his staff have collected more than 200 learning dreams from library patrons this fall. The dreams reflect the diversity of our lively Longfellow neighborhood. Believing that anyone who is successful at learning didn’t get there by themselves, Learning Dreams works to strengthen educational experiences for children and their parents. “We’ve figured out a few things since we started in 1996,” said Stein. “Such as, if kids are struggling with learning, their parents are probably struggling too. Kids need to be living in a culture of knowledge at home, and they’re more likely to experience success if their parents experience it first.”

Katherine Debretin, youth librarian from the East Lake Library, described Learning Dreams: “Two years ago, their staff began working with some of the East African students coming in for tutoring through our Homework Help Program. The younger students were brought in by their mothers and, over time, these women expressed a dream to have a group of their own. The Somali Women’s Group was born. They met every Sunday afternoon for several months to practice English conversation and socialize together.” The group arose from the women identifying their dream, and the library, along with support from Stein and his staff, was able to make it happen.

Learning Dreams also partners with several other community organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters and Minnesota Youthlink. Hennepin County Library, which reaches more than a million readers each year, is their newest partner. “Our organizations share similar missions,” Stein says. “We both work to connect people with learning resources, strengthen cultures of learning, and build partnerships within our community.”

It’s not enough to just put computers in the schools or books on the shelves. People in important positions, like teachers and librarians, need to be skilled at connecting learners to those resources - and way beyond.

As part of their partnership with libraries, Learning Dreams offers training to librarians in Minneapolis and St. Paul to help them grow in their role as “connectors.” Participants are asked to write a biography of their own learning-history, using the following question as a prompt: “What have been the five most important learning experiences in your life?” It’s a question anyone would find value in answering. It shows how each one of us connects the dots, and how we translate real-life learning into knowledge.

Another aspect of the Learning Dreams training for librarians is to have them take a good long walk through the neighborhood, looking for learning resources that could be missed when driving to work. For example, within easy walking distance of East Lake library are numerous ethnic restaurants, The Minnesota Literary Council, several East African and Latino businesses, the Midway YWCA, artists studios of every kind, the Hack Factory (a creative space where people can make and build almost anything), medical and dental clinics, South High School (an active community education site) and much more. There is learning potential around every corner, and often all it takes is a suggestion to get started.

What about all those learning dreams being collected at the East Lake Library this fall? Matt Carlson, graduate assistant and research coordinator for Learning Dreams since 2006, is helping to translate them into a user-friendly map of community resources. Learning Dreams staff will investigate where dreamers can go, right here in the local neighborhood, to get the help and support they need to reach their learning dreams. The beauty of the community-building model used by Learning Dreams is that staff don’t need to be experts, or even know very much, about the nuts and bolts of what participants are interested in. They just need to know how to connect them.

Dr. Robert Putnam, political science professor at Harvard University and well-respected author, has greatly influenced the thinking of Stein and others working in the field of education. Putnam believes that in America, we tend to throw programs at our schools to solve problems. He argues that we would be better off encouraging interactions to build community, and to tighten the knit of our social fabric. Putnam calls the mutual trust and cooperation that arises from these connections social capital. (If you want to find out more about Putnam’s work, check out his book “Bowling Alone.” It is available at the East Lake Library!)

People across all ages and income levels have learning dreams. The most frequently cited dreams are wanting to learn Spanish, English, American Sign Language, driving, computer skills and sewing. But there are also people who dream of making a Native American long bow, becoming an actor or a poet. There is no requirement that the dreams be practical or targeted. There is a belief that success in learning within families is a positive benefit for all.

Dr. Stein, an unassuming scholar with three decades of teaching experience at the University of Minnesota, notes, “In Learning Dreams, we don’t try to fix anybody. We just find out what they love.”