During this season of sharing, I invite you to share with us how you engage in service learning. What better time of year to learn something new while you're reaching out to others?

Are you learning about literacy by helping people to read?

Is your understanding of hunger being deepened by serving at your local food pantry?

Tell us about your service learning experiences.

We've been talking about breakfast food for the brain in the Continuing Ed. Forum. Do you start every day with breakfast? Does it help you focus more in class? Study better after work?

I'm a total breakfast girl, and I prefer sweet over savory in the morning. My breakfast brain food? Chocolate-chip pancakes.

What's yours?

If you live in a legal medical marijuana state, you just might be able to take a marijuana class and start a marijuana business. Sound groovy?

It is.

In Southfield, Michigan, Med Grow Cannabis College offers classes for people who want to enter the medical marijuana business. Tamar Lewin wrote about the curriculum for The New York Times:

"This state needs jobs, and we think medical marijuana can stimulate the state economy with hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars," said Nick Tennant, the 24-year-old founder of the college.

The six-week, $485 primer on medical marijuana is a cross between an agricultural extension class covering the growing cycle, nutrients and light requirements and a gathering of serious potheads, sharing stories of their best highs.

Ask me, $485 is a dirt-cheap investment in what could be a very lucrative future. Just make sure you're following the law.

"I've just told a couple of people I can trust," said Jeffery Butler, 27. "It's a business opportunity, but some people are still going to look at you funny. But I'm going to do it anyway."

Do you have a non-traditional student on your gift list? Need some ideas for what to get them for the holidays, however you celebrate them?

Here are my favorite 10 Affordable Gift Ideas for Adult Students.

I'd love to hear about yours. Share your great gift ideas in the forum. And while you're there, stick around and jabber a little with us.

Happy Thanksgiving all you non-trad students out there, all of you who are dedicated to lifelong learning, all the teachers of the world. I wish you all a happy day with friends, family, good noshing, and meaningful conversation.

Need a few extra bucks? CNNMoney lists teaching continuing education classes as #3 in its article, "5 ways to pump up your income" by Alexis Jeffries and Donna Rosato of Money Magazine.

#1 Consult in your field
#2 Seek out yield
#3 Head a class
They say pay varies widely, and I can believe it. They also list the hassle factor as high, which also is believable. It takes a lot of prep to teach just one hour of a class worth a student's time. One of the upsides is that online teaching is an option.

Well, I guess that's an upside for some of us.

Do you teach continuing ed. classes? Share your experience with us.

My blog find of the week is from Technology News and Reviews, and I regret that I can't find the author's name.

He or she writes about the necessity of continuing education, about how education from prestigious colleges and universities is a foundation only. Bill Gates is the example used.

"Take Bill Gates, for example. In spite of his phenomenal success behind Microsoft, still admits that the partial education he got from Harvard is invaluable. And even kid that he's the most successful among Harvard's drop-outs. However, what we have failed to see is that Gates has an unquenchable thirst for learning new things, trailblazing on new technologies, and outwitting his business competitors by getting ahead in acquiring or even inventing new knowledge. This is continuing education."

An unquenchable thirst for learning new things. I love that. Do you have it?

Are you a jazz cat?  Swing University at the Lincoln Center offers adult education in jazz, baby.

Classes are taught by some of the best musicians and scholars jazz has to offer, and cover song form, the uses of ensemble and soloists in performance, and significant events in jazz history.

What are you doing in January to edify yourself?

Women's shelters across the country are havens for women who find themselves in need of a helping hand, a safe place, someone who cares. Designed to help women get a handle on life again, at least one, Renaissance House in Sierra Vista, Nevada, also requires women to earn their GED before leaving.

Shar Porier wrote about the house for The Herald.

"Sixty-five percent of these women have no high school diploma or GED. So, that is part of the program, as well. They have to get their GED's to graduate," said Lou Anne Sterbick-Nelson.

To help them in that endeavor, a back room at the gallery houses a number of computers so the women can study and polish their computer skills to be competitive when they re-enter the job market.

Earning a GED is one of the most important things a person can do to get back on track in life. Do you have a story to share about earning your GED with the help of a shelter? Talk to us.

In New York, the State Board of Regents is considering alternative options for teachers seeking certification. Jennifer Medina wrote about the possibilities Sunday for The New York Times:

While New York has had some alternative certification programs in place for years, like Teach for America and New York City Teaching Fellows, students are still required to take classes at education schools during the summer, nights and weekends to earn a teaching certificate.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan wants schools to focus "more on hands-on classroom work, similar to medical residencies that aspiring doctors must complete."

Personally, I'm in favor of experiential learning. What about you? Are you seeking a teaching certificate? Do you prefer traditional or alternative class?