I’m Carlos Menendez, and I believe learning doesn’t stop at the classroom door. Some of the most important things I’ve learned came from books, movies, comics, and music, and IWT Learn Now is where I share that kind of learning with you.
I know this from my own life. I came to the United States at eleven without knowing English. I learned it through films, comics, and the library, reading books there and watching movies when I had the money. My love of reading started even earlier, with my grandfather. When I was six, he read Alexandre Dumas stories to my cousin and me, and I still think about how lucky I was.
I was drafted while visiting family in El Salvador for the first time, and I came back to be inducted. It’s what one does. I served two years, more than twelve months of that in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne.
My working life has had two chapters. For more than 25 years I worked in Information Technology in the private sector, from operations all the way to Chief Information Officer. Then I changed paths and spent 13 years in elementary schools as a classroom teacher. I taught 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades, and I also taught the advanced curriculum.
Those years in the classroom showed me something I still believe: traditional teaching is a foundation, but it doesn’t reach every student. Often, learning begins with something we already care about, whether that’s a film, a song lyric, a classic novel, a graphic novel, or a comic. Those are the doorways I write about here.
IWT Learn Now is a living publication, in English and Spanish, for learning through books, music, films, history, technology, culture, and experience. You’ll find articles on reading and books, music and lyrics, film and stories, history and culture, critical thinking, technology and Super Intelligence, financial learning, and personal reflections. Money lessons are here on purpose. Understanding finance made a real difference in my own career and personal growth, and I think it belongs alongside everything else we learn.
I also write books through Opening Young Minds: The Learning Tree, Learning Beyond the Classroom, and Learning Is Like Playing. You’ll find them, and more about that work, at cmeopeningyoungminds.com.
You don’t have to master everything at once. Start with one article, one song, or one question. A small idea, followed with curiosity, can open a whole new branch of learning. I’m glad you’re here.
— Carlos
Be The Best Version of Yourself
