Extension Inservice

My first In-Service training was an opportunity to meet hardworking county extension agents and introduce new programs in personal finance. I presented (1) my new website – along with resources such as eSource, (2) eXtension, (3) how NEFE’s High School Financial Planning Program may be extended to non-high-school students, (4) Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Plate?, and (5) the latest, long overdue Investing for Farm Families.

Other interesting things learned: Extension efforts have not gone unnoticed (e.g. the government plans to adopt the Extension approach  for the proposed health program), the difficulties of community development,  global whining, and how much NM is behind in social media marketing.

My Extension People

Just came back from a Personal Finance conference last week. This is what I have learned and experiences from it:

• Old faces: People whom have interviewed me and those whom I know from graduate schools. One of them converted from teaching to extension expressing discontent about decreasing discipline and attitude among students.
  

  This maybe what it looks like.

• Dr. Joan Koonce writing a book, Intergrity. One thing that I remember ab0ut her is that she has a picture [pic] of her old beat-up wooden house in her office, reminding us of our herd upbringing.
• Financial literacy issues in the military is a huge issue. According to a personnel whom I talked to, this is partially related to deployment period.
• Presentations at luncheon …. make them interesting. Less talk, more entertaining presentation.
• Money management personality: There were two methods presented, Money Habitudes [habit + attitudes ?] and . From the one that I took, the result point to a tyrant money management style.
• As I have long expected, overshopping is a huge problem. With her psychological approach, Dr. April Lane Benson shared her reasons on why this issue is larger than being addicted to alcoholic drinks.
• Tips on shopping for a morgage; Consejos Para Hacer Frente a la Reduccion o Congelamiento de una Linea de Credito con Garantia Hipotecaria!!!
• Some free, complementary items are good and others are just plain bad. The coolest: Flashdrive bracelet from the award-winning Financial Security for All eXtension subgroup.
• It’s just amazing how people are trying to sell you a very focused product. In this conference, there was a product that merely focus on improving credit scores or getting your credit score to 850 [I was going to link it to its website, as shared on its product catalog, but its name is not even on google search list (12/18/2009) http://www.creditscoreplus.net/]. A healthier money mangament habit promotes improved credit score, which may be obtained through the Money Coaching Institute.
• The big extension programs tend to be in te health and food areas. So, an option is to include a short segment of personal finance in bug funded programs or market our program as a these big-funded programs such as the Smart Choice$ program.

• Social Media Marketing: New post needed!!! - next, maybe.

Extension

Peters
http://www.education.cornell.edu/cals/education/people/faculty/profile.cfm?netId=sp236

Rousing the People on the Land: The Roots of the Educational Organizing Tradition in Extension Work

Peters

Recent calls for “engagement” have land-grant institutions searching for ways to develop “two-way” partnerships between universities and communities for broad civic purposes. The renewal of a powerful but little understood tradition of educational organizing in Cooperative Extension work can help place Extension on the front lines of this important work. In this article, the author traces and discusses the roots of the tradition of educational organizing, shedding light on one of the most inspiring forgotten chapters of cooperative Extension history.

Citizens Developing a Voice at the Table: A Story of Educational Organizing in Contemporary Extension Work

Peters

Diffusing and helping people to apply “science-based” information have long been viewed as the core tasks of Extension educators and specialists. But Extension work also includes a tradition of educational organizing that develops leadership, builds civic capacity, and facilitates learning through bringing people and resources together to identify, deliberate about, and act on important public issues and problems. This article draws from a “practice story” in contemporary Extension work in order to shed light on the dimensions and significance of educational organizing in today’s world.