The Non-Traditional Student Blog (BA): Bowling Green

I got to listen to a great actor and a sensitive human being today.

He was at the Southern Kentucky Festival of Books here in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Henry Winkler giving an interview for a local TV show.

It was Henry Winkler, famous actor (think: The Fonz on Happy Days). He gave an hour-long free talk about his life, his new book, and about having dyslexia. He went through much of his life not feeling good about himself. It was when he came into his own with acting that things started going better.

As he shared about finding out later in life that he had dyslexia, I know that many audience members were touched about what he shared. His parents thought that he was not working up to his potential. His teachers were not always sympathetic.

Henry Winkler being introduced.

No matter how hard he worked, reading was super hard for him, and almost made him give up on doing well in life. He heard many negative messages.

Well, as you and I know, Henry Winkler has done really well in life. Not only did he succeed in acting, he also has become a director and best-selling author. Some of his advice to others is to find out what YOU do well, and just do it.

Another piece of advice I got from his talk was to believe in yourself, and don't listen to people who tell you that you CAN'T do something. Sometimes it takes awhile to find out what you are meant to do, he says. That goes for all ages too. I found his message of hope inspiring, and I know others did too.

And even though he is a Dog Person and doesn't like cats, I will shrug that away, and say:

Great job, Henry Winkler!! Ayyyyyyyy!!!

Betsyanne

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Hi again, fellow nontraditional students.

I recently wrote a posting here on the Nontraditional Student Blog about Computers and Nontraditional students. I talked about how hard it is sometimes for nontraditional students to learn about computers. Here they are, in school, and they HAVE to know computers. It can cause some real problems for them.

Their fellow students have grown up with computers, but they haven't. They might not even be able to type very well. What can they do?

I had a great comment (thanks, Tina) about this blog entry. Here it is:

It is really hard for a lot of older people going back to school to get the hang of using the computers. We just changed our computer systems at the public library and so many people are having trouble adjust from the 2003versions of the Microsoft programs to the 2007 versions. Even our staff, especially the older members of staff are having a hard time. The kids are fine with it because they use it at school. I wish there would be more places people could take computer classes (full-scale besides the short ones we offer at the library) without the high cost that a lot of the colleges are charging.

What a great comment. It made me think. I am in a Microcomputer User Group called BGAMUG. This stands for the Bowling Green (KY) Microcomputer User's Group. It has been around since the first computers came out. Like other User Groups, they have classes for people who are absolute beginners and charge little or no money for them.

These User Group classes would be perfect for nontraditional students. Do you have a local User Group in your area? Do you or somebody you know need computer help?

Here is a good first step - look up your area on this website: the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG) Group Search Page. There's a good chance there is a group near you. Also, try Googling the terms "Computer User Group" and your city or town.

And thanks again for the great comment, Tina. It led to an "aha" moment for people who might really benefit from a good (and cheap!) computer class.