Connections Blog

This summer the tutors co-facilitated four, six-week Connections book discussion groups using the program’s new “book grant” option. For Nashua Adult Learning Center, this option allowed us to serve 35 students who otherwise wouldn’t have had access to summer English instruction.

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New Hampshire Humanities thanks Eversource for its generous support of our Connections program, providing access to the humanities through literature for some of New Hampshire’s most diverse and underserved communities.

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On a brisk morning in October, a small group of women came to class in the basement of the International Institute of New England (IINE) in Manchester. Coming from El Salvador, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nepal, and Vietnam, the women are not only learning critical content for Licensed Nursing Assistant (LNA) jobs in a healthcare field ravaged by the pandemic, but are learning English in the process. 

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The Connections program at New Hampshire Humanities and NH Adult Education are thrilled to have nine adult educators from around the state currently engaging in this community of practice using Connections literature to Teach the Skills that Matter. Watch the video below to learn more about the project.  Explore more of the Teaching the Skills that Matter initiative here.

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This spring, the Portsmouth Adult Education program applied for and received a book grant for use with the students in our Basic English class. We selected four books from the Connections program at New Hampshire Humanities around the theme of childhood memories.

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These poems were created in response to the book Wangari's Trees of Peace, written by English as a Second Language (ESL) students at Keene Community Education as part of their Connections book discussion this past spring.

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An interviewer once asked of the Connections program, “If we can’t measure your impact, what is the point of doing it?” In a world driven by data and the need for measurable impacts, the pressures on programs to report out metrics, demographics, or skills gained are realities of our modern society.

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By Sunita Pereira and Mary Nolin

April is National Poetry Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the importance of poets and their poetry in our history, culture, and everyday lives. Adult English as a Second Language (ESL) students at the International Institute of New England (IINE) in Manchester have been using and writing their own poems to learn English. They also read the book Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Doreen Rappaport as part of their ongoing Connections book discussion series.

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By Aracelis Vega

I identify a lot with the book Letting Swift River Go. In those days of my childhood, I remember a lot when my grandfather had animal farms. Horses, cows, pigs, chickens, roosters, geese, turkey, rabbits, pigeons. Near the mountain there were lakes. I could inhale fresh day air. Also I had the opportunity to help cut wood to make a fire and cookout near the farm. This was an experience that I’ll never forget. Thank you for sharing this very similar story in my childhood. 

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By Martha L. Rodriguez

When we were reading these short stories as Rosa, When Jessie Came Across the Sea, Fry Bread and Letting Swift River Go, stories written to children, each of them about different topics of American culture, I discovered with surprise how a simple reading  was able to communicate with depth and power the values and feelings of American people.

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By Barbara Visciano

In a recent New Hampshire Humanities Connections program requested by Barbara Visciano, teacher of the ESL Civics Reading and Discussion Class at the Dover Adult Learning Center, the concept of liberty and justice in our history was the topic of exploration. Using four picture books during the four week series, facilitator Bill Badgley took these students on an historical journey to four periods in American history during which there were struggles to live up to ideals set forth in our founding documents. He posed the essential question: What is an American?

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Here at New Hampshire Humanities, we have a saying for the work we do: “We play three roles here: The convener, the funder, and the catalyst for positive change.” Unfortunately, we can’t always play all these roles in every situation. This is a story of our role as convener.

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By Mary Nolin and William (Bo) Dean

With the COVID 19 pandemic forcing many adult education centers to pivot to virtual learning platforms, many teachers needed to find creative ways to engage and connect with their students. William ‘Bo’ Dean, an English as a Second Language (ESOL) instructor at Salem Adult Education, had the idea of mailing books from the Connections program to his students to teach English and issues around the environment through children’s literature.

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“Sometimes ‘tell me more’ are the most generous words you can tell somebody.” - Terry Farish   You could say Terry...

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In the Connections New Voices project, the bonds formed between professional writers and writers who are also English learners become a source of in...

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Writing united us. But could we actually pull off a reading? Yes, with help from some poets before us.  Back row: Tami Truax, Portsmouth Poet La...

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This is a workshop we’ve long wanted to offer since our program features many picture books on universal themes of the humanities. On August 13 ...

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“New Voices” is an extension of the Connections reading and book discussion program, bringing an opportunity to students learning English ...

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“What a wonderful and inspiring reading and conversation we had!” Poet S Stephanie summed up New Hampshire Humanities’ first reading...

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The Year of New Voices project of New Hampshire Humanities' Connections program offers a new focus on writing this year. To support students in th...

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In New Hampshire Humanities’ "Year of New Voices" project, Ewa Chrusciel will serve as one of the professional writers partnering...

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What makes a good story?  “It’s when I become you,” an ESOL student once said in his class. Much of Beth Olshansky’s work...

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Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera had just arrived at the Adult Learning Center in Nashua, his second day with New Hampshire Humanities' Connectio...

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