This week we’re hitting the books… and the buttons, the gears, the binoculars, too. We’ll learn the ABCs and 123s of producing your own news show, rebuilding your own diesel engine and tracking your favorite birds. Plus, learning to play the piano — from a teacher that’s anything but human — and getting your GED… in prison. All that and more on AK, from APRN stations statewide, starting today.
Piano Lessons 2.0
Rebecca Sheir visits Washburn Pianos in South Anchorage to try out a new piano teacher. Unlike her childhood instructors, however, this one comes with buttons, dials and an extension cord.
Learning Against the Odds
Sometimes, learning happens despite great odds. Kevin Keyes just started his first semester at UAF’s Kuskokwim campus, and was one of three Alaskans to win the national GED Postsecondary Tuition Scholarship. But the road there wasn’t easy. In Bethel, Shane Iverson has the story.
300 Villages
Emmonak
Kivalina
- Break: “School Days” performed by Barrel Fingers Barry from Honky Tonkin’
Diesel 101
The diesel engine provides transportation, heat and electricity, but if one were to break down, how many of us would know how to fix it? Scott Burton recently met with University of Alaska Southeast professor Chuck Craig for a session of “Diesel Engines Simplified,” and brings us this how-to.
- Music Button: “Makin’ Time” by Cherryholmes from Cherryholmes
For the Birds
The migration routes of black oystercatchers have long been a mystery. State and federal agencies are working with Parks Canada to learn how these birds of a feather flock together. Weld Royal talks with the Mike Goldstein of the US Forest Service and Mathew Johnson of USGS to find out more.
Staying in School
Katie Bausler is the producer of Alaska College Track 2, a documentary about Alaska native students making their way through college. She speaks with featured student Amanda Bremner about what it takes for native students — who have traditionally dropped out of high
school at high rates, and have had difficulty getting through college — to stay in school.
- Calendar of Events (Song: “To Sir With Love” performed by Daddy A Go Go from Eat Every Bean and Pea On Your Plate)
Event Interview: Bioneers in Alaska Conference
Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage hosts the 4th Annual Bioneers in Alaska Conference, October 19-21, 2007. Rebecca Sheir speaks with organizer Terri Brown about the event.
- Break: “No Such Thing” by John Mayer from Karaoke – Sing the Singers Collection, Vol. 1
Learning by Doing
For ten years, Mirror Lake Middle School has produced its own news program: Mirror Lake Middle School Video News. The program recently lost its mentor – the Father of Alaska Television, Augie Hiebert – but facilitator Emily Blahous hopes it’ll keep going strong. They’re even planning on starting a new radio station: KAUG. Rebecca Sheir recently paid a visit as the cameras started rolling.
Rilke Schule
“Kindergarten” is a German word, and some Anchorage kindergarteners are learning the language from scratch at a new German immersion charter school for grades K-8. Rilke Schule opened its doors six weeks ago, and as AK’s Ellen Lockyer tells us, its unique concept is attracting a lot of attention.
Author Interview: Andromeda Romano-Lax
Anchorage author Andromeda Romano-Lax recently published her first novel, The Spanish Bow. She originally intended it to be nonfiction, but as she immersed herself in music and history, it transformed into fiction. For Romano-Lax, that kicked off a whole new level of learning. She spoke with AK’s Jessica Cochran.
- Closing: “Heart and Soul” performed by The Modern Jazz Quartet from Elegance: The Birth of the Modern Jazz Quartet
