Last spring, an earnest young woman whom I’ll call “Jennifer” contacted me to ask whether Champion Tutoring helps adults. When I told her that we teach students of all ages, she was relieved. She had just one month to memorize the basic structure and functions of the human brain, and she was freaking out.
Jennifer works for a local rehab facility and wanted to become certified to work with people who had sustained traumatic brain injuries. The certification test was challenging and heavy on the physiology of the brain. Although Jennifer had worked hard in college, it had been 10 years since she graduated. And, as a Sociology major, her science and math requirements had been of the social science variety. Jennifer wanted to ace this test, but felt ill-equipped to do so.
Many of Champion’s adult students share Jennifer’s discomfort with their subject matter. Some haven’t been in a classroom for decades – others are making a mid-life career shift that’s fraught with its own challenges. One adult student came to Champion for study skills help right before her Master’s Comprehensive Exams. She was one of the smartest, most organized students whom I’d ever met – I knew she was going to ace her Comps, but she felt ten times better after working with a tutor on reading comprehension strategies.
This Fall, as we launch, Champion Adult Learning Academy, (or CALA, as we are affectionately calling it) I like to remind people that we’ve always nurtured adults. CALA will continue this tradition while also finding new and creative ways to empower adult learners. CALA classes will cover a range of topics, from public speaking to social media and digital marketing. You can read about our current course offerings here.
As we develop future CALA course offerings, we’d like to hear from parents, educators, and civic leaders about the topics that will be of the greatest benefit to adult learners. I’ll also be meeting with community leaders to discuss our region’s workforce needs, a topic that is changing at lightening speed.
We are excited about CALA and look forward to hearing your ideas!
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