Francisco Miraval
I met Luis some time ago. He is a real person. Luis is a young man, married, and with two young children. He is a commercial painter and, like so many other people, he came to the United States looking for a better life. His plans, however, not always worked the way he expected.
Earlier this year, we met at a community meeting and he told he was tired of working long hours every day and day after day without a break. He also said he didn’t have time to be with his family and, in fact, he was even neglecting himself.
That was very obvious. Luis came to the community meeting wearing work clothes, with paint all over the clothes and on his face and hands. Obviously, he is a good father and husband willing to do whatever he needs to do to provide for his family.
Luis received his high school diploma in his native country and he wanted to go to college in the United States. However, being a father and a husband and lacking a good command of the English language forced him to postpone his goals. He told that one day he will learn English and go to college to offer a better life to his children.
Luis’ possibilities of going to college seem slim. He lacks a solid academic formation and his English is very limited, certainly not at college-level. In addition, I am afraid he doesn’t have the financial resources to pay for his college studies. So, I was surprised when at a meeting some time ago he asked me about his options to go to college.
Before I couldn’t say anything, Luis listed several conditions. Fees should be low or non-existent and classes should have a flexible schedule to accommodate his work schedule. He also wanted to take only one class at a time and the assurance of receiving academic help if he needed it.
In that context, I thought it was proper to mention the option of taking online classes, either just for personal enrichment (Coursera, EdX, FutureLearn) or for credit (ASU’s Global Freshman Academy, University of the People). So, we spoke about that I later I sent him an email with all the information.
We briefly met again some time later and he thanked me for the information. He apologized for not contacting me sooner because, he confessed, he doesn’t know how to reply to an email. Luis doesn’t own a computer and, therefore, he uses his smartphone for all his communications needs. He said he would download and install the apps he needed to fully use his email.
Several months later, I met Luis at yet another community event. We exchanged the usual greetings and we also talk about work and about our families. And then the conversation turned once again to college studies.
“Are you taking any classes, Luis? I asked. He looked at me, smiled, and said, “I am taking an online class about robotics at MIT”.