A Visit to the Notre Dame Education Center

Recently I had the distinct privilege and pleasure of visiting the NOTRE DAME EDUCATION CENTER which is located in South Boston, Massachusetts. I was given a tour of the facility by Sister Margaret Lanen of the Sisters of Notre Dame. (Sister Margaret belongs to the same order of nuns that operates the marvelous nursing home facility on Plantation Street where our chorus from Saint Joan of Arc Church sings each Christmas and 4th of July.) I have been in the business of teaching adults all aspects of the English language for a long time now in many different environments. It is difficult to explain, but I don't have to be in a school very long to get a"FEEL" for the place. (I wish that I had a better way to describe it.) Notre Dame Education Center was operating full blast when I got there. There were ESL classes in session everywhere. It was a happy, active, place. I got that same "FEEL" here as I did the year before when I visited Framingham, Massachusett's Adult Learning Center. I saw no evidence of politicians with their fingers in the pie here--no wheeling and dealing---no scheming---students with books and supplies---proper ratios of teachers to administrators---evidence of respect for immigrant population-----no evidence of censorship of websites for blogs: in other words, a beautifully operated center for learning.
After taking a walking tour around the facility, Sister Margaret sat me down next to a computer and proceeded to explain PROJECT L.E.A.D. to me. This was one of the main reasons for my visit. Project L.E.A.D. which stands for LEARNING ENGLISH AT A DISTANCE is a computer-based program for foreign-born persons to learn English at home from lessons provided from the Notre Dame Education Center. This is what "distance learning" is. Sister Margaret operates this project (with help) using her center as the "HUB" (as she calls it) for students from Jamaica Plain Learning Center, Somerville Center(Project SCALE) and the Community Learning Center in Cambridge. If I remember correctly, there are over 165 students enrolled and learning English "AT HOME". However, it is not entirely at home without a teacher. The teacher is a vital part of the whole project. Sr. Margaret showed me how she corrects the writing from her students. She does it somewhat differently than I do. While I use capital letters to make corrections and e-mails, Margaret numbers her corrections and is very detailed. She is terrific!!
How does the teacher know what work to give the student who is working at Home? For the ESL teacher who may be reading this blog, Sr. Margaret told me that they use the REEP Test and that Project LEARN is for intermediate level ESL students. There are also some basic computer skills that the student needs to know in advance in order to participate. Among these are to send an attachment along with an e-mail. Each student is given a well-organized booklet that explains all that is necessary to participate.
The whole system operates on the MOODLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM and requires a good deal of self discipline on the part of the learner.
From what I have been able to observe, I would say that the SCREENING PROCESS is crucial when it comes to retention of students. If the ESL student's computer skills do not match what is needed to operate the MOODLE SYSTEM, or to read well enough to be self-directing enough at home, then that student will quickly drop out. Therefore, the REEP Test has got to be accurate! The challenge for the future of distance learning is to devise a system for BEGINNERS for English as a Second Language. How about that, Sister Margaret? (and anybody else?) I think you would need to have to use SKYPE or some such system of face to face action with beginners to keep the dropout rate within reasonable levels.
I mentioned the MOODLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. The absolute expert on that system is a fellow by the name of Romeo Marquis and his business is teaching this system to teachers everywhere---and I mean EVERYWHERE!! He teaches MOODLE to American teachers, but he also goes overseas. He just came back from Costa Rica, and he tells me that he will be going to Honduras sometime next month for the fifth time. Romeo takes some time to play the guitar, and he and I enjoy singing together....I think I should write a blog about him soon.
I stayed with Sr. Margaret much longer than I thought I would because it was such a great place to visit. I can assure Governor Patrick that the Commonwealth is getting its moneys worth from this wonderful facility. It truly deserves the adjective "educational" beside its name.
I caught the 5:00P.M. train out of Back Bay Station for Worcester and a modern train it was! I rode home on the upper deck for $3.85 senior citizen rate. I hate to tell you the last time I rode the train to Boston. I was working for the government then and used to take the "Montreal Express" on Sunday night out of North Station for Concord, New Hampshire. (This was ages ago!!) At that time, the Boston Bruin hockey team used to take the same train north to play the Montreal Canadians. I used to wear what was then called a "trench coat" that looked like what is now a "London Fog" coat (white) I carried a brown leather overnight bag with the initials "WPC" on the side. These initials stood for,"WILLIAM PAUL COLEMAN",my brother's bag that I had borrowed. Every Sunday night when I walked into the station, a large group of boys between the ages of 12 to 15 years of age would come running across the concourse with autograph books and surround me. They would thrust their books and pens in my face demanding my autograph! It took me a while to figure out that they were confusing me with one of the Bruins hockey players! When I explained who I was, they would leave, but the next week, the scene would be repeated. One Sunday night I decided to have some fun. I signed their books, but I signed, "DONALD DUCK", "MICKEY MOUSE", "ANDY GUMP" until finally....one of the boys actually looked at the signature and in a loud voice announced, "HE'S NO HOCKEY PLAYER!" With that, they all scattered like a flock of birds that suddenly changes direction. However. it was not until that boy made his announcement that I understood why those kids were attacking me every Sunday night!
I arrived back at beautiful Union Station a little after 6:00 P.M. and wondered whatever happened to that nice overnight bag of my brother Billy's(?) and thoughts of what a nice place the Notre Dame Education Center is. Then I saw my wife, Shirley out front waiting to pick me up. I couldn't wait to tell her what a nice day it had been! Thank you Sr. Margaret, Lisa, and Cathy!